The basics:

• DHS agrees to pause construction tied to Roxbury ICE detention facility
• Environmental assessment will be completed before work resumes
• New Jersey, Roxbury Township filed suit in March
• Proposed site could house more than 2,000 detainees and staff

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security agreed to temporarily halt construction and conversion work tied to a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Roxbury. The project will pause while the agency conducts an environmental assessment, according to a joint stipulation filed in U.S. District Court May 12.

The filing is tied to a lawsuit brought in March by New Jersey and Roxbury Township seeking to block the project. It also pauses consideration of the state’s pending motion for a preliminary injunction while DHS completes further environmental review tied to the proposed detention center.

As NJBIZ previously reported, the proposed plan would convert a vacant warehouse on Route 46 into what officials say could become the largest immigrant detention facility in New Jersey. It would house more than 2,000 detainees and staff.

Local backlash

State and local leaders have argued the site lacks sufficient water and sewer infrastructure, would worsen traffic and emergency service demands, and could create environmental risks tied to the nearby Highlands region and Lake Hopatcong watershed.

Officials also contend the project would remove a potentially productive industrial property from economic use.

According to the filing, DHS agreed not to undertake construction or conversion activities tied to transforming the warehouse into a detention center until it completes a final environmental assessment and related agency decision documents. Limited site security and maintenance activities are still permitted during that period.

The stipulation further states that if New Jersey renews its motion for a preliminary injunction following the environmental review, DHS would remain restricted from moving forward with conversion activities for an additional 30 days after that filing.

‘Back off’

In a joint statement issued May 12, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo said they have consistently argued that DHS’s plan would harm the surrounding community and fail to improve public safety.

“Since we filed litigation, we’ve been demanding the federal government back off its rushed construction and operation of an immigration detention center in Roxbury,” the officials said in the statement.

“We’ve been clear from the beginning that DHS’s proposed ICE detention facility in Roxbury will harm the community and won’t do anything to make us safer,” the statement continued. “If DHS conducts a proper analysis, it will discover that this industrial warehouse is no place for a detention center. If DHS continues to plow ahead after conducting its further analysis, we will return to Court to seek relief immediately.”

We’ve been clear from the beginning that DHS’s proposed ICE detention facility in Roxbury will harm the community and won’t do anything to make us safer.
– Elected NJ officials, joint statement

State and local officials previously alleged DHS and ICE violated multiple federal laws by failing to consult with state and local leaders or conduct a proper environmental review before advancing the project. Officials also said DHS purchased the property for $129 million – roughly double its assessed value – and criticized what they described as a rushed effort to convert a warehouse never designed for detention use.

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.