ICE Abandons Plans for Pennsylvania Detention Centers

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have formally withdrawn plans to convert two rural Pennsylvania warehouses into detention centers. The federal government had purchased a 527,000-square-foot facility in Upper Bern Township for $87.4 million and a 1.3-million-square-foot former Big Lots distribution center in Tremont Township for $119 million. Together, the sites were designed to hold up to 9,000 detainees as part of a broader $38 billion expansion effort initiated by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Governor Josh Shapiro blocked the projects by issuing an administrative order and denying necessary drinking water and wastewater permits through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Shapiro argued that the warehouses were unsuitable for human habitation and that the local infrastructure could not support thousands of detainees without posing risks to community health and safety.

ICE withdrew its appeal to the permit denials on Wednesday, and DHS Assistant Director James Ingalsbe provided written confirmation that the properties will not be used as detention centers. This reversal follows a broader federal retreat from the warehouse expansion plan, which had been paused by Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin after he replaced Noem.