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From Warehouse to Detention: ICE’s Expansion into Rural Pennsylvania

Writer: Leyna Fleischaker
Leyna Fleischaker
Mar 8
5 min read

[1]


In February 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) purchased a 64-acre warehouse property in Berks County, Pennsylvania and a 172-acre warehouse property in Tremont Township, Pennsylvania to use as immigration detention facilities. [2] This combined $207 million purchase was funded by the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which gave ICE additional funding for their expanded immigration enforcement initiatives. [3] The proposed use of these two facilities includes transforming them into 7,500 and 1,500 bed detention centers. [4] Local and state officials have expressed concern that neither Township currently has the infrastructure capacity to support the proposed detention centers and that the conversion could place significant demands on existing public systems. [5]

          

Infrastructure & Planning Concerns

 

These warehouses were initially designed and constructed as commercial facilities and are zoned for industrial development. [6] Experts have warned local officials that it will be difficult to bring the industrial buildings up to federal standards for detention facilities in the short time before ICE plans to begin housing people in them. [7] Detention facilities impose unique and substantial infrastructure demands, including adequate water and sewage capacity, increased load on local electric grids, sufficient law enforcement and emergency medical services resources, and access to appropriate medical facilities. [8] ICE has yet to provide any information to these communities how it plans to meet these expansive needs. [9] These concerns, along with the fact that ICE already struggles to uphold federal standards at some of its existing facilities, compounds the potential issues this project poses. [10] For example, in September 2025, 60 violations of federal standards were found at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas — ICE’s largest detention center holding 3,800 detainees. [11]

 

A Shift in the Tax Burden

 

In addition to growing infrastructure and planning concerns, the acquisition of these facilities could lead to a combined loss of over $1.6 million in local tax revenue per year for Schuylkill and Berks counties, potentially placing significant strain on municipal and school district budgets. [12] Generally, following the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Intergovernmental Tax Immunity Doctrine, the federal government does not pay local property taxes. [13] Here, the loss of tax revenue as a result of the federal government’s purchase of these facilities rather than a private entity will be approximately $597,110 for the Hamburg Area School District and $31,229 for Upper Bern Township annually. [14]

 

Zoning

 

ICE’s conversion process — warehouse to detention center — is widely unreported. [15] The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken steps to limit oversight, and ICE has repeatedly refused members of Congress access to their facilities. [16] With little information publicly shared about ICE’s plans for the new detention centers, it is difficult to speculate what the transformations will entail. [17]

 

The lack of transparency becomes more tangible at the local level. For example, in Upper Bern Township, to change the specified use of a warehouse, one must file a zoning permit application to the Zoning Officer. [18] The application must have complete plans, including but not limited to the number of dwelling units, a statement indicating the proposed use, and a detailed scale with all dimensions of the lot. [19] ICE did not give the Township any advanced notice of the purchase, and the agency has not publicly shared any specifics about how it plans to convert and use the warehouses. [20]

 

While local officials work to ensure that all land use aligns with regional priorities, goals, and values, Constitutional authority may, in certain circumstances, preempt local zoning regulation under the Supremacy Clause and the Doctrine of Intergovernmental Immunity. [21] As is relevant here, ICE, as an arm of the federal government, is not required to get local approval for their proposed use of the warehouses as private developers might because they are exempt from local laws when carrying out a federal duty. [22] Although the Constitution does not explicitly mention immigration, long-standing Supreme Court precedent recognizes Congress as having plenary power over immigration, placing the enforcement of immigration laws squarely within the scope of a federal duty. [23]

 

What’s Next?

 

With the balance of power in favor of ICE, it is no surprise they are facing litigation from numerous states over the scope of their authority. [24] Although there are clear limitations on local municipalities’ ability to stop federal projects, these land use fights are likely to continue playing out in legal and political venues across the country for the foreseeable future. [25]











Leyna Fleischaker (guest writer) is a 1L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Leyna graduated from the University of Rochester in 2025 with a dual degree in political science and public health. Leyna is interested and curious about the intersections of the law, government, and politics. Leyna is particularly interested in the human element of real estate law, and how real estate decisions shape and impact communities.



Footnotes

[2] Joe Brandt, ICE Buys Warehouse Property in Berks County, Pennsylvania, for $87 Million, CBS News, Feb. 6, 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/ice-berks-county-warehouse-bern-township-purchase-buy/ ; Joe Kohut, Shapiro: ICE Detention Centers ‘Do Not Belong’ Here, WNEP, Feb. 10, 2026. https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/schuylkill-county/ice-detention-center-schuylkill-county-tremont-township-josh-shaprio-warehouse/523-f41b3a8a-88d3-401a-971f-b949e4967476 

[3] Id. 

[4] John Fetterman, Fetterman Criticizes Proposed Pennsylvania ICE Warehouses in Letter to DHS Secretary Noem,  Fetterman U.S. Senator (Feb. 14, 2026, 12:06 PM), https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/fetterman-criticizes-proposed-pennsylvania-ice-warehouses-in-letter-to-dhs-secretary-noem/ 

[5] Id. 

[7] Jonathon O’Connell & Douglas MacMillan, ICE Buys Warehouses for Mass Detention Network, Rattling Locals, Washington Post, Jan. 30, 2026. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/30/ice-warehouse-detention-dhs-immigration/ 

[8] John Fetterman, Fetterman Criticizes Proposed Pennsylvania ICE Warehouses in Letter to DHS Secretary Noem,  Fetterman U.S. Senator (Feb. 14, 2026, 12:06 PM), https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/fetterman-criticizes-proposed-pennsylvania-ice-warehouses-in-letter-to-dhs-secretary-noem/

[9] Id. 

[10] Jonathon O’Connell & Douglas MacMillan, ICE Buys Warehouses for Mass Detention Network, Rattling Locals, Washington Post, Jan. 30, 2026. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/30/ice-warehouse-detention-dhs-immigration/ 

[11] Id. 

[12] John Fetterman, Fetterman Criticizes Proposed Pennsylvania ICE Warehouses in Letter to DHS Secretary Noem,  Fetterman U.S. Senator (Feb. 14, 2026, 12:06 PM), https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/fetterman-criticizes-proposed-pennsylvania-ice-warehouses-in-letter-to-dhs-secretary-noem/

[13] U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cl. 1. Intergovernmental Tax Immunity Doctrine, Constitution Annotated, Feb. 17, 2026, 8:44 AM. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C1-1-5/ALDE_00013391/

[14] Amanda Fries & Gabriela Martinez, ICE Buys $87M Warehouse in Berks County as it Plots Expansion of Immigration Detention Centers Across the U.S., Spotlight PA, Feb. 2, 2026.  https://www.spotlightpa.org/berks/2026/02/ice-warehouse-berks-county-purchase-federal-government/ 

[15] Moira Donegan, ICE Holds People in Disgusting Conditions. Now it’s Turning Warehouses into Camps, The Guardian, Feb. 17, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/17/ice-holds-people-in-disgusting-conditions-now-its-turning-warehouses-into-camps 

[16] Id. 

[17] Sophie Alexander & Fola Akinnibi, ICE Begins Buying ‘Mega’ Warehouse Detention Centers Across US, Bloomberg, Jan. 29, 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-01-29/us-spends-hundreds-of-millions-on-warehouses-for-ice-detention-centers 

[19] Id. 

[20] Gabriela Martinez, Everything You Need to Know About ICE’s Plan to Open a Detention Center in Berks County, Spotlight PA, Feb. 5, 2026. https://www.spotlightpa.org/berks/2026/02/ice-warehouse-immigration-berks-county-hamburg-plans-federal-government/#:~:text=Why%20did%20ICE%20purchase%20the,hold%20up%20to%201%2C500%20people 

[21] Victoria Gladstone, Lehigh County Officials to Warehouse Owners: Do Not Sell to ICE, Lehigh Valley Live, Feb. 7, 2026. https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2026/02/lehigh-county-officials-to-warehouse-owners-do-not-to-sell-to-ice.html; Jonathon O’Connell & Douglas MacMillan, ICE Buys Warehouses for Mass Detention Network, Rattling Locals, Washington Post, Jan. 30, 2026. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/01/30/ice-warehouse-detention-dhs-immigration/ 

[22] Id.

[23] Artl.S8.C18.8.1 Overview of Congress’s Immigration Powers, Constitution Annotated, Feb. 17, 2026, 8:30 AM. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7811076/#:~:text=Because%20the%20federal%20government%20has,conflict%20with%20federal%20immigration%20policy 

[24] Mark A. Hall, Lilli Mann-Jackson & Scott D. Rhodes, State Preemption of Local Immigration “Sanctuary” Policies: Legal Considerations, National Library of Medicine, Feb. 17, 2026, 8:30 AM. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7811076/#:~:text=Because%20the%20federal%20government%20has,conflict%20with%20federal%20immigration%20policy

[25] Sy Snyder, Communities in Pennsylvania and Other States Fight ICE Detention Centers, but Have Few Tools to Stop Them, Politics PA, Feb. 18, 2026. https://www.politicspa.com/communities-in-pennsylvania-and-other-states-fight-ice-detention-centers-but-have-few-tools-to-stop-them/145701/

 
 
 

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