Pennsylvania Governor Threatens to Withhold Permits for Proposed ICE “Mega-Detention” Centers
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has issued a sharp rebuke to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), formally notifying Secretary Kristi Noem that his administration will “aggressively pursue every option” to block the establishment of two massive new immigration detention centers in the state. In a letter delivered to DHS leadership, Shapiro warned that state agencies are prepared to deny crucial environmental and occupancy permits, citing severe infrastructure deficiencies that would violate Pennsylvania law.
The conflict centers on DHS’s recent acquisition of two large industrial warehouses—a 520,000-square-foot facility in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, and a 1.3-million-square-foot former distribution center in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County. Federal plans suggest these sites could be retrofitted to house up to 9,000 detainees combined, a scale that state officials argue would overwhelm local resources.
Infrastructure and Legal Roadblocks
A detailed review by the Shapiro administration’s cabinet members—including the Secretaries of Environmental Protection and Health—uncovered significant logistical hurdles that the state intends to leverage. The governor’s letter specifically highlights that the Upper Bern Township site’s sewage capacity is legally capped at a level suitable for a warehouse, not a high-density residential facility. According to state engineering estimates, converting the site into a detention center would generate wastewater flows more than 14 times the legally permitted limit.
“These facilities will jeopardize the health and safety of Pennsylvanians who live nearby, overburden local infrastructure and emergency response personnel, and deprive the communities of important tax revenue,” Shapiro wrote. The letter explicitly states that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will not issue permits for operations that violate clean water and sewage regulations, effectively threatening to stall the projects before construction can begin.
Federal Authority and National Security Arguments
Despite the governor’s firm stance, the DHS maintains that the expansion is a critical component of national security and border enforcement strategies. Federal officials have argued that additional detention capacity is necessary to manage immigration processing and that the acquired sites were selected based on operational needs.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for DHS, pushed back against the state’s characterization, asserting that the new facilities would be “well-structured” and adhere to “regular detention standards.” Supporters of the project argue that the federal government possesses “extraordinary power” to establish necessary facilities, potentially superseding local zoning or state-level objections through federal preemption. Legal experts note that while the state controls environmental permitting, a protracted court battle could ensue if the federal government invokes supremacy clauses to bypass state roadblocks, arguing that local obstruction cannot impede federal law enforcement duties.
Context of Detention in Pennsylvania
This confrontation marks a significant escalation in the tension between Pennsylvania’s executive branch and federal immigration authorities. The state already hosts the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, which is currently the largest ICE detention facility in the Northeast with a capacity of nearly 1,900. That facility, operated by the private prison company GEO Group, has faced persistent scrutiny and allegations of inhumane conditions since reopening as an immigration center in 2021.
Historically, Pennsylvania has been a focal point for immigration detention controversies. The Berks County Residential Center, which notably housed families for decades, was closed in early 2023 following years of protests from advocacy groups like the “Shut Down Berks” coalition. The proposal to open two new “mega-centers” in the same region represents a sharp reversal of that closure trend. By targeting warehouses in rural communities, DHS appears to be seeking lower-profile sites, yet the sheer scale of the proposed 7,500-bed facility in Tremont has drawn bipartisan concern from local officials who say they were “kept in the dark” during the property acquisition process.
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