PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has confirmed it will not be using properties in Berks and Schuylkill counties for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.
The announcement comes from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which said it received written confirmation from DHS on Wednesday.
ICE initially purchased warehouses in Upper Bern and Tremont townships, intending to convert them into large detention centers, together capable of holding 9,000 people. Over the course of several months, taxpayers raised concerns to the Shapiro administration about the impact the facilities would possibly have on public health, safety and infrastructure.
The Shapiro administration said both facilities would have dramatic increased demand on local water and sewer systems as well as emergency response. The centers would have also led to the loss of more than a million dollars in property tax revenue.
Administrative orders were issued to enforce Pennsylvania law and require both facilities to meet the state's environmental requirements. DHS was prohibited from using the water or sewer systems needed to convert the two warehouses until it could prove it could safely do so.
DHS appealed the administration's orders, but withdrew its appeals on Wednesday. The DEP said it plans to monitor the properties very closely.
