ICE Abandoned Two Pennsylvania Warehouse Detention Plans
ICE filed a single-sentence withdrawal from its appeal at the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board on July 16, 2026, ending the agency’s legal fight to connect two warehouses to local water and sewage systems. The warehouses in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, and Upper Bern Township, Berks County, were purchased in early 2026 as part of a nationwide push to convert commercial properties into immigration detention facilities.
The Tremont site, a former Big Lots distribution center, would have been one of the largest ICE detention facilities in the country.
7,500 people the Tremont warehouse was designed to detain, with at least 2,000 expected staff, according to ICE’s own plans
That scale would have roughly doubled the area’s existing employment base and overwhelmed local infrastructure built for a warehouse, not a detention city.
Pennsylvania’s Environmental Agency Blocked the Project First
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection blocked the conversions before ICE withdrew. When ICE and DHS failed to submit required infrastructure plans in February 2026, DEP filed administrative orders in March barring local officials from allowing utility connections at both sites.
Those orders remain in place. Governor Josh Shapiro’s office confirmed late July 16 that the administrative orders will not be lifted, even though ICE has now confirmed in writing it will not use the warehouses as detention centers.
Environmental groups that intervened in the case had pushed for exactly this kind of formal action. They viewed informal statements from DHS as insufficient, and ICE’s court withdrawal as a more reliable indicator that the plans are genuinely dead.
What Happens to the Buildings Is Still Unclear
ICE’s letters to DEP describe infrastructure work consistent with how the warehouses were originally designed. That language leaves open whether the federal government intends to repurpose the buildings for a different use or prepare them for sale.
ICE and DHS did not respond to press questions about their plans for the properties. The Tremont and Berks sites were two of 11 warehouse sites purchased nationally in early 2026 that DHS has since backed away from.
What You Can Do Now
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Call Governor Shapiro’s office at (717) 787-2500 and ask his administration to continue enforcing the DEP administrative orders at both warehouse sites until the federal government formally divests the properties. The orders are still in place but could be lifted if DHS signals a different use.
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Contact your Pennsylvania state legislators through the PA House and Senate directories at legis.state.pa.us and ask them to pass legislation requiring environmental review before any federal agency converts commercial property to mass detention use in Pennsylvania.
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Contact Berks County commissioners at (610) 478-6100 and Schuylkill County commissioners at (570) 628-1210 to ask for public notice requirements before any new federal use of either warehouse is approved at the local level.
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Track DEP’s enforcement status at dep.pa.gov and flag any new permit applications at the Tremont or Upper Bern addresses to your county commissioners and local press.
Sources
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: ICE Withdraws Appeal of Pa. Environmental Directives Tied to Warehouse Purchases New York Times: DHS Backs Away From 11 Warehouse Detention Site Conversions Nationwide Pennsylvania Capital-Star: ICE Purchases Upper Bern Township Warehouse for Detention Pennsylvania DEP: Administrative Orders on ICE Warehouse Utility Connections