Pro-ICE Republicans draw the line when detention center hits home in NJ

☑️ A proposed ICE detention center in Roxbury has united Democrats and the GOP

☑️ Elected officials from all levels are against the facility

☑️ Federal law may override local laws, complicating efforts to block the project

ROXBURY — Local and state politicians are mobilizing against federal plans to open an immigration detention facility here.

You're forgiven if you thought these officials were Democrats. They're actually all Republicans.

Republicans against ICE?

That’s the plot twist unfolding in this affluent Morris County suburb, where an all-GOP township council is trying to block a proposed ICE detention center even as Republicans in statewide and federal offices continue to champion tougher immigration enforcement.

Despite supporting ICE and the Trump administration's deportation mission, local Republican officials appear to be locking arms with Gov. Mikie Sherrill, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and the rest of New Jersey’s Democratic establishment when it comes to opposing a 1,500-bed federal immigration detention facility planned for a Route 46 warehouse.

Confusion over whether Roxbury warehouse was purchased by feds

After Booker and congressional Democrats issued statements condemning the sale of a warehouse in Roxbury to ICE, a Republican lawmaker from Morris County said the sale does not look to be certain yet. (UPDATE: Days later, ICE confirmed the sale.)

The Gothamist reported on the sale on Wednesday but Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, R-Morris, told New Jersey 101.5 that ICE was denying the report. She said Mayor Shawn Potillo told her he did not have confirmation of the sale from the owner of the warehouse.

On Thursday, the Gothamist quoted Potillo saying that Homeland Security's "original statement was issued without proper approval and that no facility was purchased in Roxbury.” On Friday, however, federal officials provided a statement to New Jersey 101.5 confirming the warehouse sale.

Fantasia said she is not opposed to detention facilities but does not believe the Roxbury site can handle the water and septic needs of a facility housing 1,500 people.

“Continuous water use, continuous wastewater output, and heavy pressure on systems that weren’t designed for that kind of demand. We’re also aware that the wastewater flows through a modest line into Netcong, running beneath active rail infrastructure (part of a multi-town agreement). That’s not a setup that can suddenly absorb a hospital, high-density housing, or a detention facility,” Fantasia said.

Plans for an ICE detention facility in Morris County

Speculation about the facility began in December when Roxbury Township appeared in a Washington Post report about the Trump administration soliciting for contractors to convert at least seven warehouses around the country into "large-scale holding centers," including one in Roxbury that could hold 1,500 people.

Republican Mayor Shawn Patillo, council members and state and county officials said they had no knowledge of the plan.  But after Township Manager J.J. Murphy spotted ICE officials touring a warehouse, the all-Republican Township Council passed an ordinance to oppose any detention center, as it would stress water, sewer, and public safety resources.

ALSO READ: NJ investigates ICE-related shooting in Morris County

Booker blasts Trump over 'mass warehousing of human beings'

In a statement to the Gothamist, the Department of Homeland Security said the warehouse on Route 46, currently owned by Dalfen Industrial of Dallas, would create 1,300 jobs and generate $39 million in tax revenue. ICE on Wednesday afternoon did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for comment.

Booker called the sale an "affront to the Roxbury community," which resoundingly rejected the prospect of a facility. The Democrat also attacked President Donald Trump and Republican members of Congress.

"President Trump and Congressional Republicans chose to spend millions of dollars expanding a detention system that has no place in New Jersey. President Trump is choosing to invest in the mass warehousing of human beings, allowing a select few to profit from the cruel detention of our neighbors," Booker said in his statement.

U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J. 8th District, said on his X account that the facility "runs counter to our state's values and we must stand united against it."

State Sen. Anthony Bucco, R-Morris, who is also the township's attorney, said during a township council meeting that a legal fight against the facility would be difficult as federal law takes precedence over local law.

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