New Jersey ICE Project Stalled by Environmental Review

A controversial detention center project by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is on hold in New Jersey after opponents successfully argued the need for an environmental review.

Lawyers for the federal government and the state reached an agreement on Tuesday to conduct an environmental review on the warehouse redevelopment in Roxbury Township, Bloomberg reported. The deal was reached before a hearing was to be held on a lawsuit filed by New Jersey.

Opponents of the project, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill, argued that the federal government violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to prepare an impact statement or coordinate on environmental harm reduction with state and local agencies.

The state filed a lawsuit in March, alleging a retrofitting of the Route 46 warehouse by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security would overwhelm the wastewater system, damaging local lakes and rivers. Last month, lawyers for the federal government argued the state didn’t demonstrate imminent harm the project would cause.

Under the agreement, the federal government will conduct an environmental assessment and issue a “decision document.” Then, each side will discuss the continued need for the lawsuit with the judge. In the meantime, the government will be allowed to install fencing and security cameras at the site.

A Goldman Sachs-backed industrial venture in partnership with Dallas-based Dalfen Industrial sold the nearly half-million-square-foot New Jersey warehouse to the federal government in February for $129 million. It was reported that the Roxbury site could add roughly 1,500 beds to New Jersey’s immigration detention system, a significant expansion in a state that has faced political and legal battles over such facilities.

The state appears to be hoping the federal government’s environmental review will lead to an epiphany.

“If DHS conducts a proper analysis, it will discover that this industrial warehouse is no place for a detention center,” state officials said in a statement. “If DHS continues to plow ahead after conducting its further analysis, we will return to court to seek relief immediately.”

— Holden Walter-Warner