{"id":44246,"date":"2026-04-04T09:54:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T09:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/44246\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T09:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T09:54:34","slug":"berks-officials-want-written-assurances-about-proposed-ice-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/44246\/","title":{"rendered":"Berks officials want written assurances about proposed ICE center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since the purchase of a warehouse in Upper Bern Township<\/a> by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was made public in early February, neighbors of the property and local officials have had questions.<\/p>\n

Information about plans for the 527,000-square-foot building to be converted into a 1,500-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility has not come quickly. Details have been scarce, which has led to uncertainty about what impact such a facility would have on the community.<\/p>\n

Last week Rep. Dan Meuser \u2014 the Republican who represents areas that include both the Upper Bern warehouse and a Schuylkill County site slated to be an immigrant detention center \u2014 provided some updates based on a meeting he recently had with DHS officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But on Thursday, a group of local residents told the Berks County commissioners that the information Meuser provided has done little to quell their concerns. The commissioners responded by saying they\u2019re still awaiting concrete commitments from the federal government.<\/p>\n

In his statement, Meuser said DHS has given assurances that the federal government will work in good faith to address potential strains on communities where detention centers are planned.<\/p>\n

He said DHS made a commitment to offset local tax revenue impacts that will match, if not exceed, expected losses and that DHS will draft a memorandum of understanding to provide one-time payments for necessary infrastructure upgrades, including communications systems, utilities and road improvements where needed.<\/p>\n

Meuser said DHS stated that the majority of jobs associated with these facilities will be filled by local workers, and that since there will be increased demand for local 911 and EMS services the agency will consider possible funding solutions.<\/p>\n

When it comes to safety concerns, Meuser said officials from DHS confirmed that federal law enforcement personnel are responsible for security at the facilities, ensuring the safety of detainees, staff and the surrounding community. DHS committed to coordinating with local law enforcement to ensure effective communication and response, he said.<\/p>\n

To ensure ongoing transparency and local input, DHS will establish a Community Relations Board, which will include county officials and other local representatives, Meuser said.<\/p>\n

Residents react<\/p>\n

Local residents said Thursday that they were not convinced about DHS\u2019s dedication to mitigating the impact of a detention center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are zero guarantees or assurances that DHS will follow their own guidelines, even if provided in writing,\u201d Spring Township resident Lisa Gallagher told the commissioners during their weekly meeting. \u201cI have a hard time taking DHS at their word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wyomissing resident Jane Pamer agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have said you need more information,\u201d she said to the commissioners. \u201cWhy on Earth would you believe anything that DHS says?\u201d<\/p>\n

Commissioners\u2019 stances<\/p>\n

The commissioners said they are not willing to simply take DHS officials at their word, instead saying they remain leery in the absence of any official, written agreements.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Christian Leinbach said he has been very clear about his stance, saying his primary concerns about the ICE center fall into two categories: the financial aspect and the humanitarian aspect.<\/p>\n

He said that until the federal government fully addresses those concerns, he will not lend his support to the center. Leinbach said he has relayed that information to DHS officials during previous meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am now actively requesting that we set up a call specifically for Berks County officials to discuss the processing center in Upper Bern Township,\u201d he said. \u201cUp until now, the meetings with DHS have involved both counties, and it got a little confusing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leinbach said he appreciates Meuser sharing what he has learned in meetings with DHS officials but added that he is reluctant to do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to share verbal information that I receive because, until I have it in a legally enforceable document, it doesn\u2019t mean anything,\u201d he said. \u201cI also don\u2019t want to get caught in a situation where I\u2019m quoted as saying \u2018this is what was promised\u2019 and, because it was all verbal, somebody comes back and says that\u2019s not what they meant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leinbach said his aversion to sharing conversations he has with DHS officials doesn\u2019t mean talking about the center is off the table.<\/p>\n

To that point, he noted recent reporting from the Associated Press<\/a> that the Department of Homeland Security is pausing the purchase of warehouses intended to house immigrants as it scrutinizes all contracts signed under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n

According to the report, a senior department official said warehouse purchases that were already made are also being scrutinized.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we get new information I will readily share it in public,\u201d Leinbach said.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Michael Rivera said he is also waiting for more information about the center\u2019s impact and what will come of the review of the warehouse purchases that have been made.<\/p>\n

Commissioner Dante Santoni Jr. said he has been vocal about his opposition to the opening of the ICE center and that has not changed. He said he remains skeptical that DHS is going to fulfill its promises.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important we get as much information as we can and provide it to our constituents if this thing moves forward but there are now confirmed reports that there has been a pause in the opening of these facilities,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope the public pressure has played a role in that, and I hope that it won\u2019t open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ever since the purchase of a warehouse in Upper Bern Township by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1200,104,899,1202,1201,10053],"class_list":{"0":"post-44246","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bern","8":"tag-berks-county","9":"tag-bern","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-top-stories-rhr"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116345835602889437","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}