Is the federal government exempt from local municipal land development procedures?
The purchase of two vacant warehouses – one in Tremont Township in Schuylkill County, and another in Upper Bern Township in Berks County – to convert them to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers has sidestepped the land development process developers are required to go through before shovels hit the ground.
Local and state officials argue the projects violate land development procedures – because none were completed.
In a letter dated Thursday to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro stated widely that reported plans for the detention centers violated legal requirements addressing public drinking water, sewage and water pollution.
“State authorities would not issue required permits that would violate these legal requirements,” Shapiro wrote in the letter.
In addition to Shapiro, Sen. John Fetterman issued a statement to Noem. Top level Shapiro cabinet members have also voiced concerns over public safety and infrastructure.
Staggering amounts of daily water usage could leave community reservoirs dry, depriving residents of tap water for drinking and household needs, as well as putting homes and businesses at risk for fires and emergencies.
For example, Schuylkill County Municipal Authority provides drinking water for Tremont Township and its neighbors, Tremont Borough and Frailey Township.
The water authority’s total holding capacity is 1 million gallons. The proposed detention center’s estimated population of 7,500 people would require 800,000 gallons of water per day alone, Shapiro’s letter said. By contrast, Census Reporter said Tremont’s population of about 272 people is located within a roughly 24.2 square mile area.
READ: Immigration Officials Plan to Spend $38.3 Billion to Boost Detention Capacity to 92,000 Beds
About 11.4% of Tremont’s residents live below the established poverty level. The U.S. Census Bureau’s “Quick Facts” about Schuylkill County may be found here.
In February 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) purchased the 1.3 million-square-foot former Big Lots center to transform it into a massive detention center in Tremont Township – without going through the land development or subdivision process.
This purchase is part of the nearly $200 million that DHS recently spent on Pennsylvania warehouses, Local 21 News reported.
According to Todd Zimmerman, chairman of Schuylkill County Democratic Committee based in Pottsville, nonpartisan efforts are forming to stop the ICE detention center development.
The center would create devastating impacts to local resources including sewer capacity, environmental impacts as well as a dramatic loss of tax revenue for the communities in which these detention centers would be located, according to Zimmerman.
On Friday, Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro called out water and sewer infrastructure as a major stumbling block to any development in both Tremont Township and Upper Bern Township.
“We were not informed beforehand, just like the local community, we were kept in the dark,” Shapiro said while addressing reporters in Lackawanna County. “I do not want these facilities here; they do not belong here.”
“Republicans and Democrats alike stand up and say they do not want this in the community … I’m going to do everything in my power to stop it,” Shapiro said.
While the full list of 23 sites has not been disclosed, confirmed purchases and reports identify locations in several states, with a focus on Pennsylvania and Maryland.
“The planned development of two Pennsylvania warehouse sites as inhumane ICE detention centers should alarm anyone who cares about civil liberties and due process.” – Vanessa Stine, ACLU of Pennsylvania Senior Staff Attorney for Immigrants’ Rights
Zimmerman called the proposed ICE centers quarters reminiscent of World War II Japanese American relocation internment camps on the west coast.
Lisa Von Ahn, a co-chair with Indivisible Schuylkill, said writers of a petition started by Move On said communities across the country highlighted problems with federal land development and redevelopment projects for ICE detention conversions conducted by the Department of Homeland Security.
“From reduced oversight, toxic exposures creating environmental hazards and increased local costs, on top of that, the petition highlighted that the facility is being forced upon a community without any discussion,” Von Ahn said.
She added Indivisible Schuylkill members have been attending Schuylkill County Commissioners meetings, held on Wednesdays, to oppose the detention centers.
READ: Communities Fight ICE Detention Centers, but Have Few Tools to Stop Them
WFMZ reported last Thursday residents of Upper Bern Township in Berks County, where a 1,500-bed detention processing center is proposed, packed a municipal meeting in opposition to its construction and location in their community.
The Coal Region Canary reported Rep. Dan Meuser (PA-09) plans to bring together DHS, Schuylkill and Berks county officials to address concerns over the planned ICE detention and processing centers.
“These recent developments have raised serious concerns, and I share many of the same questions being raised by local officials and residents. I have already met with DHS officials and spoken with elected leaders in both Schuylkill and Berks Counties, and we will continue those discussions this week as we work to get clear answers,” Meuser said in the Coal Region Canary report.
An emailed statement issued by the Berks County Board of Commissioners reads:
The County of Berks was informed on February 2 by the county Recorder of Deeds about the U.S. government purchasing a warehouse in Upper Bern Township. The County of Berks had no prior knowledge of the sale and has no information on the future plans for the property. The County refers all other inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security.
At a recent Berks County Commissioners regular business meeting, commissioners discussed the warehouse. Video of the meeting is available here.
Upper Bern Township’s population of about 1,909 is located on roughly 17.7 square miles, Census Reporter said, with about 7.5% living below the poverty line.
“I agree with Governor Shapiro’s opposition to this inhumane federal takeover of our region. I support public safety. What we’ve seen from Kristi Noem’s ICE is the exact opposite. I call on Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) to do his job and use his congressional oversight authority to push back against this and unequivocally state his opposition,” said Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.
Harvie is a Democratic hopeful vying for a chance in the May primaries to represent Democrats in November’s election.
There was no response to a request for comment from Fitzpatrick’s office. However, Fitzpatrick’s office issued a press release stating that after communicating with ICE, there are currently no plans to open a detention center in PA-01. Fitzpatrick had nothing to do with that decision.
Vanessa Stine, a senior staff attorney for immigrants’ rights at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said in an email the development of these detention centers signals an expansion of “Trump’s war on immigrants, even as a significant and growing majority of Americans continue to oppose ICE’s tactics. The planned development of two Pennsylvania warehouse sites as inhumane ICE detention centers should alarm anyone who cares about civil liberties and due process.”
According to Zimmerman, federal buildings are tax exempt and the land purchases went ahead without prior notification to local officials, community members or the public.
“The federal government does not have to pay county and local taxes. The Pine Grove School District will lose $555,000; the county $222,000 and Tremont Township over $195,000” in annual revenue, Zimmerman said in a press release.
Opponents of the detention centers claim in addition to the land development process being skipped the public was not informed, no public hearings were conducted and there were no prior public notices made.
In addition to Pennsylvania, other planned ICE detention facilities currently include: Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Virginia. DHS plans for these facilities and centers faced stiff opposition or have already been defeated, according to Move On, a progressive political action and advocacy member-based non-profit organization.
Of the above states targeted for ICE detention centers, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia are led by Democratic governors; while Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah are led by Republicans.
