Morris County thought the ICE detention fight was over — now Washington says not so fast

ROXBURY — The plan to build an ICE detention facility in Morris County is officially dead. Or is it?

Seven months after the first reports about the facility sparked outrage, the Department of Homeland Security officially ended plans to build an ICE detention at a warehouse off Route 46 in the Ledgewood section, according to a joint status report issued by the U.S. District Court in New Jersey.

But Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Monday suggested that the plan for a detention facility in Roxbury was still possible after Gov. Mikie Sherrill said that the state's lawsuit caused Homeland Security to back down from the plan.

"DHS will never back down. We will be keeping this site for a detention center," Mullin said

ALSO READ: NJ Rep Tom Kean reveals why he disappeared from Congress

Conflicting messages leave future of Morris County site unclear

Michael Symons, spokesman for the state Office of the Attorney General, said that the federal government plans to sell the property.

"DHS, through its counsel, represented in writing to a federal court that it no longer intends to move forward with the detention center and intends to sell the Roxbury warehouse instead," Symons told New Jersey 101.5.

The warehouse would have housed 1,500 detainees and was part of an aggressive expansion plan under then-Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem. It was purchased for $130 million, one of 11 facilities that Noem signed for.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom