ICE Breaker

The federal government quietly purchased a massive Route 46 warehouse in Roxbury to serve as a third ICE immigrant detention center in New Jersey. The near-unanimous opposition is loud.

By Mario Marroquin and David Chmiel

The federal government’s $129.3 million purchase of a 470,000-square-foot Roxbury Township industrial warehouse for conversion into New Jersey’s third Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigrant detention facility has been confirmed—and met with widespread protest.

The issue arose in mid-February after published reports said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had purchased the warehouse and that it would create 1,300 jobs and generate over $39 million in tax revenue for the township. That report was later disputed by Roxbury officials.

Denials aside, on February 19, the federal government closed the deal on the warehouse—located at 1879 U.S. Route 46—purchasing it from Dallas, Texas-based real estate firm Dalfen Industrial. Sean Dalfen is president and CEO, but Goldman Sachs is majority owner of a fund that involves “last-mile” warehouse deals.

ICE presently operates two other New Jersey detention centers: Delaney Hall in Newark and the Elizabeth Detention Center. Public officials have blasted conditions after visiting the facilities. The American Immigration Council, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization reports that last year’s H.R.1  budget reconciliation bill passed by Congress allocated $45 billion in ICE funding and is poised to operate 135,000 detention beds through 2029.

Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo, the all-Republican Township Council, and virtually every other state and local official and resident, remain opposed to the plan.

“We have consistently voiced our concerns through public statements, official meetings, and direct engagement with our state and federal representatives,” Potillo said on February 24. “We have engaged with Dalfen Industrial in good faith to explore opportunities to bring more community-appropriate uses to this property. It is deeply disappointing that those efforts did not result in the solutions aligned with the best interests and values of our community.”

Potillo added that township attorneys, including Anthony Bucco, and New Jersey State Attorney General Jennifer Davenport are working together to find the most effective path to oppose the facility. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill condemned the deal for the new ICE facility. Bucco who is also a State Senator (R-25th Dist.) faced ethics concerns about his vote in Trenton to oppose a bill that would limit cooperation between ICE and local police and prevent ICE agents from wearing masks. The state’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services ruled that Bucco’s found no conflict by Bucco.

Sherrill sent a letter of opposition to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on February 27, decrying the agency’s “lack of communication and transparency with Roxbury in its acquisition of the site is inexcusable.” Sherrill went on to state that turning a warehouse into a detention center of this scale would raise concerns about environmental impacts, public health, and resource demands on Roxbury and its neighboring communities. 

Noem was fired by President Donald J. Trump after a two-day hearing before Congress that was marked by heated bipartisan criticism of questionable DHS business practices and violent ICE incidents under Noem’s watch. There is no indication it will affect the proposed Roxbury move.

New Jersey’s U.S. Senators, Andy Kim and Cory Booker, have introduced legislation that would prohibit DHS from using federal funds to purchase warehouses for the purpose of

converting them into detention facilities.

Kim said the legislation is intended to work alongside two other bills he introduced to improve transparency and access to resources for detainees, while addressing the needs of the communities around new and existing detention centers. 

“These are pieces of legislation that are trying to draw attention and highlight this problem right now in Roxbury, and are also happening in other states around this country,” Kim said. “I am trying to recreate that [bipartisan] coalition that [Roxbury] has on the ground in the Senate.” 

The Trump administration has backed down and retreated, but only when it comes under significant public pressure, he said. 

Kean Legislation Condemned

Sherrill’s comments provide a stark contrast to the actions and statements by U.S. Congressman Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J. 7th District), who announced on February 23 that he is the lead sponsor of a new bill titled the “Local Taxpayer Protection Act of 2026” to provide financial support for the township of Roxbury. The legislation would create a grant program administered by DHS to offset the township's costs for maintaining existing and new detention centers.

The congressman, who is up for reelection in November, raised no objections about the mission or behavior of ICE officers.

The bill specifically states the grant program would cover expenses, including lost property tax revenue, increased demands for public utilities, and infrastructure upgrades needed to support new and existing detention centers. The legislation would approve five years of funding and allow municipalities to apply for a renewal while the facilities remain in operation. Kean, whose actions drew swift and near-total condemnation, defended his proposed legislation as a financial decision.

“Federal agencies operate in all 50 states, and law enforcement agencies have a particularly important job, one that often demands a higher level of resources,” he said in a statement. “Local taxpayers cannot be expected to foot the bill for federal facilities, and towns like Roxbury should not have to absorb the costs.”

Sherrill also expressed opposition to ICE’s actions, writing, “Across the country, federal immigration officers have trampled on basic liberties and engaged in unconscionable acts of violence against law-abiding Americans… 

“I am also gravely concerned about ICE’s treatment of the individuals in its custody. An industrial warehouse—even if retrofitted—is not suitable for human confinement… In short, DHS’s treatment of human beings—citizens and non-citizens alike—reflects a chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law. New Jersey will not be complicit in this.”

The governor promised continued monitoring and warned that “if DHS fails to do so, New Jersey will not hesitate to protect the interests of Roxbury residents and our communities using every tool at our disposal.”

ROXBURY OPPOSITION

In January, Roxbury’s Township Council unanimously adopted a resolution proclaiming the location was not appropriate for a detention center, adding that DHS never approached Roxbury officials about the deal, making it impossible for them to make an informed decision.

“The prior approvals of existing industrial warehouses within the Township were, in part, based upon the limited demand such facilities have for water and sewer, and upon other public resources and services,” the resolution reads.

The proclamation also referenced a December Washington Post story that DHS was planning to convert industrial warehouses into detention centers capable of accommodating 500 to 1,500 beds.

Senator Kim said he is also concerned about the number of arrests that DHS can carry out in Morris County, as the agency is limited by the number of detainees that it can house at detention centers. 

That number could increase when this detention center finally opens in Roxbury, he said.  

“This is a community that only has 42 police officers… and a volunteer fire department,” Kim said. “I find it absolutely appalling that there’s been such a level of disregard for the concerns of the local community. I am going to continue to try to lift them up and press this administration to actually talk to the local community and understand why this detention facility absolutely should not come into reality.”

Records from township council meetings in 2022 show that the township and the facility’s previous owners, Adler Roxbury LLC,  stipulated that the facility would require no more than 12,000 gallons of water per day and would not generate more than 11,700 gallons of daily sewer waste. The latter agreement also extended to the Borough of Netcong, as the two municipalities are served by the same sewage department, the Musconetcong Sewage Authority (MSA). The agreement mandates that Roxbury may not make any new connections to this sewage department without Netcong’s approval, and that the maximum daily sewage waste from the warehouse may not exceed 11,700 gallons. 

According to local officials, the proposed ICE facility—which would house 1,500 detainees and about 400 staffers—would increase daily usage by more than 16 times, requiring 192,000 gallons of water and 187,500 gallons of waste flows. They say it would max out all currently unused treatment capacity and pollute local streams and lakes. In addition, officials say the Roxbury water system doesn’t have the capacity to meet the increased demand while still serving its residents.

Adler Roxbury sold the warehouse to Dalfen Industrial in 2023. Dalfen bought another, in 2025, in Lumberton, Burlington County. A report from the nonprofit New Jersey Monitor also noted that officials from Roxbury condemned Dalfen Industrial for selling the property to the federal government in February, after the town offered support, including tax breaks, if Dalfen maintained it as a warehouse. Dalfen Industrial officials did not return a request for comment.

Dissent Continues

Community opposition to the detention center has been steady since word of the potential purchase spread. Attendance has spiked at Roxbury Town Council meetings, but this isn’t just a “Not In My Backyard” (NIMBY) issue for concerned local residents.

On February 28, more than 1,000 people gathered not only to protest the proposed Roxbury detention center, but also to oppose any detention center, including Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center. In a show of respect and support for the state’s diverse population, protesters stood shoulder to shoulder along U.S. Route 46 in front of the township’s municipal building, stretching down to the Quality Inn and displaying a variety of signs opposing the ongoing treatment of immigrants and detention centers. 

For township resident Debbi Heditsch, the Roxbury warehouse is part of her neighborhood. And while the phrase “not in my backyard” could apply, she sees this as a more global problem.

“Caging of humans is immoral, horrible, and inhumane, and especially to have it just down the street is upsetting,” she said while holding a sign that read: “Roxbury Needs Water, Not ICE.”

A first-time protestor, Heditsch said it wouldn’t be her last.

“It’s sad that we have to do this in 2026,” she said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an important issue to Dover and its surrounding communities. Check back with DOVERNOW.com to get more news as it occurs.