State Rep. Jamie Barton voiced concerns and fielded questions from residents about plans for a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement processing center in Upper Bern Township.
Barton, who spoke at a township meeting Thursday, said he’d heard from Department of Homeland Security officials about the ICE facility.
The department bought the 62-acre property at 3501 Mountain Road containing a 527,000-square-foot warehouse in late January for $87.4 million.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency has purchased a large property in Upper Bern Township that includes a sprawling warehouse for $87.4 million. (Bill Uhrich – Reading Eagle)
DHS’s plan would convert the warehouse into a processing center for migrants arrested by federal agents before their transfer to ICE detention centers.
The facility is one of 16 proposed processing centers, each with an expected population of 1,000 to 1,500 detainees whose stays would average three to seven days, according to a DHS document posted in February.
Another eight large-scale detention centers — like one planned for Tremont Township in Schuylkill County — would be capable of housing 7,000 to 10,000 detainees for periods averaging less than 60 days.
Plans call for all facilities to be operational by December.
Following their stay in detention centers, some migrants could be deported, and others may face jail terms in U.S. facilities, Barton said.
The Upper Bern warehouse has been vacant since its construction in 2021.
Barton, a Schuylkill County Republican who also represents parts of northern Berks County, said significant questions still surround the plan.
“Safety: That’s our number one issue,” Barton told the Reading Eagle. “DHS has said they’re going to have security inside and outside the facility. But safety for our community, we need to make sure (of that).”
He said there were concerns about whether local emergency services would be diverted to serve the facility.
“If there’s a fire there, are they going to have their own (firefighters)?” Barton said. “EMS…are they going to have their own medical (center) inside the facility? We just don’t know that answer.”
Barton said there has been discussion of possibly forming a community advisory board of local officials that could conduct checks at the facility to ensure safety and security measures are met.
Financial, infrastructure concerns
The economic impacts of stripping a high-value property from the local tax base are also a concern, Barton said.
“We’re losing a lot of money here,” Barton said. “There have been comments made by DHS that ‘we’re going to make you whole,’ but we haven’t seen that in writing yet.”
The financial hit is substantial — Berks County commissioners said in February that the loss in local tax dollars is estimated at $828,000 per year: $200,000 in county taxes, $31,000 in township taxes and $597,000 in Hamburg School District taxes.
Barton said DHS has mentioned the possibility of a “per bed tax” that would see the township, county and school district reimbursed.
Other questions revolved around the facility’s impact on local infrastructure, such as whether water would have to be trucked in and how the sewer system would handle the added usage.
“There’s no solution I’ve been told (yet) for the sewer, the water,” Barton said. “Those are big things.”
Township solicitor Andew Hoffman told the Reading Eagle that Upper Bern officials have limited control over how the federal government handles the site.
“The federal government doesn’t have to go through the normal (plan) review process,” Hoffman noted. “They don’t have to comply with the zoning. They don’t have to comply with the land development ordinance.”
He noted the state may have some ability to limit the federal administration’s actions at the site.
“We’re watching to see what the state does,” Hoffman said. “They have many more resources than we (the township).”
In early March, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued orders directing the DHS not to occupy the warehouse until a review of the site’s drinking water and sewer infrastructure has been completed.
Residents’ questions
Several residents had questions about how the township plans to address protests surrounding the facility.
Some wondered how to keep teens and other young protesters safe, while others voiced concerns about protesters blocking access to Shartlesville Community Park.
Linda Alspach Heckman said a recent protest had caused a significant disruption for some community members.
“I had tears,” Alsaph Heckman said. “Will this be allowed to continue in our community? Will we be allowed to just freely send our children to the playground? We do not want this community to be anything like Minneapolis.”
Protest rules
Township officials are exploring rules to require a permit for using the park for protests, officials noted.
The park will require a permit for First Amendment activities like demonstrations, rallies, picketing, leafletting and petition gathering.
“A permit (for First Amendment activities at the park) would be necessary with a refundable deposit,” Hoffman noted. “If it all goes well and there is no damage, you get all of your money back.”
The deposit for First Amendment activities would be $150, Hoffman noted. The rules also set park hours from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and bans soliciting, using drones, or engaging in threatening behavior, among other activities.
The new rules will be up for adoption at the township’s next meeting in April, officials said.
Local ordinances like the new park rules aren’t enforceable by state police, noted Sgt. Cory Mengel, PSP Hamburg station commander.
The Hamburg station provides police coverage for Upper Bern.
“You have a code enforcement officer (for local rules),” Mengel said.
He noted that bad actors who violate state laws should expect full enforcement from his department.
“We have the best resources there are,” Mengel said. “We’re going to hold the people responsible that need to be held responsible.”