Bucks County Commissioners Say They Don’t Want ICE Detention Centers

The Bucks County Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a resolution opposing the opening of any U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers within the county.

The bipartisan vote by the two Democrats and one Republican comes amid local speculation and rumors that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been scouting the area for potential warehouses that could be converted into processing or detention facilities.

The resolution opposes “the use of warehouses or similar industrial facilities not intended for human occupancy as facilities to hold, jail, detain, house or otherwise store human beings.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s headquarters, and ICE’s Philadelphia regional official did not respond to a request for comment.

(UPDATED at 4:58 p.m., Wednesday) An unnamed ICE spokesperson said just that the agency is “actively working to expand detention space.”

“We have no new detention centers to announce at this time. These will not be warehouses — they will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards. Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the spokesperson said, adding a list of several people convicted of crimes who were arrested recently in Pennsylvania by ICE.

Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, a Republican, said he heard “talk and conversation” that “seemed pretty credible” about ICE looking at locations in Bensalem Township and Middletown Township.

Commissioner Bob Harvie, a Democrat, stated it was his understanding that ICE had looked at warehouses in the Linconia section of Bensalem Township and at the two warehouses near the Reedman Toll Auto Group on Maple Avenue (Route 213) in Middletown Township.

State Sen. Frank Farry, a Republican, stated he had spoken with the owner of the Middletown Township warehouses and was told the federal government had not approached him and he was not leasing or selling either of the buildings to the government.

One real estate source said the U.S. Department of Homeland security has been seeking commercial office space in the Philadelphia area, but they were unaware of any offers from the federal government to purchase warehouses in Bucks County as of this week.

A second commercial real estate source said the Middletown Township warehouses are not being purchased or leased by the federal government, per conversations they’ve had with others in the industry.

Brokers for the two large buildings did not respond to a request for comment.

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican, stated on his website that his office had contacted federal immigration officials about the rumors of a facility.

“We have received assurances that no such facility is planned for PA-1,” Fitzpatrick said, referring to his district, which covers all of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County.

Fitzpatrick added that his office will continue to monitor the situation.

“Bucks County is not a county that needs or wants a detention facility,” said DiGirolamo. “It is not appropriate for our county. Not at all.”

DiGirolamo said he wanted to support the resolution because he knows from his years in government that what might be true today, might not be true tomorrow.

Harvie said the resolution, which had bipartisan support, came about because the county had concerns over the potential of detention facilities being opened

“This county is not the place for this type of facility,” he said. “I’ll expand on that, this county is no place for these types of facilities.”

In his comments, Harvie said he doesn’t trust the federal government and believes there will be future attempts to open a facility in Bucks County.

Farry stated he believe the warehouse owner and believes politics played a hand in the issue. He added he has been in communication with Middletown Township and Fitzpatrick’s office.

The commissioner’s vote in Bucks County comes after confirmed plans for two other federal detention sites in Schuylkill County and Berks County, which has drawn scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to convert a former Big Lots warehouse in Tremont and another warehouse site in Upper Bern Township.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, issued a letter last week in opposition to the Berks and Schuylkill locations in a letter sent last week to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Shapiro argued that the federal department’s track record justified his objections.

“These facilities will also jeopardize the health and safety of Pennsylvanians who live nearby, overburden local infrastructure and emergency response personnel, and deprive the communities of important tax revenue,” Shapiro wrote.

State environmental and health officials also warned that they would withhold necessary permits for water and sewage if the facilities violated legal requirements.

The expansion is part of a “new detention model” spearheaded by the Trump administration. Documents released last week by New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, detail a $38.2 billion federal plan to retrofit warehouses into eight large-scale detention centers and 16 processing sites by Nov. 30.

ICE officials stated the model is intended to meet a “growing demand for bedspace” and streamline removals.

Congress last year voted to give the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tens of billions in additional dollars to fund increased immigration and border enforcement.

President Donald Trump was elected after campaigning on cracking down on illegal immigration and removing non-citizens from the country, a pledge that has led to high-profile removal operations and controversy after people have been hurt and citizens detained.

According to NPR, encounters with migrants at American borders rose under then-President Joe Biden’s administration and Trump has set a goal of deporting 1 million people each year.

Recent reporting by the Associated Press, USA Today, and other news organizations have focused on condition in detention centers, including children being held longer than allowed, food that has expired, limited water for drinking, and toilets that don’t work.

Noem, the homeland security secretary, has maintained a firm position on the administration’s policy.

“ICE and our federal law enforcement partners will continue to enforce the law,” she said.

Below is the full text of the commissioners’ resolution approved Wednesday:

A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNTY OF BUCKS, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, OPPOSING THE UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT AGENCY ESTABLISHING ICE DETAINEE FACILITIES IN BUCKS COUNTY WAREHOUSES

WHEREAS, the County of Bucks follows all state and federal laws regarding cooperation with law enforcement, including with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”); and

WHEREAS, on January 20, 2025, the White House announced a policy to detain and deport vast numbers of illegal aliens residing in the United States and directed DHS to allocate all legally available resources or establish contracts to construct, operate, control, or use facilities to detain removable aliens; and

WHEREAS, recent reports from human rights organizations reveal alarming conditions of confinement and repeated instances of coercion, physical force, and threats against immigrants facing third-country deportations, in violation of agency policies and standards, as well as statutory and constitutional protections within ICE detention facilities; and

WHEREAS, the federal administration, when presented with bipartisan concerns about DHS immigration operations, including the conditions inside ICE detention facilities, has demonstrated an unwillingness to rein in or acknowledge rampant, flagrant disregard for public safety and constitutional guarantees of due process, severely impugning the government’s credibility; and

WHEREAS, ICE’s nationwide efforts to lease or purchase industrial warehouses for the purpose of obtaining additional facilities to process and detain individuals in the agency’s custody have included multiple warehouses in Bucks County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, the County of Bucks, as represented by the elected Board of Commissioners, opposes the use of warehouses or similar industrial facilities not intended for human occupancy as facilities to hold, jail, detain, house or otherwise store human beings; and

WHEREAS, in addition to humanitarian concerns arising from the reported poor treatment of individuals in ICE detention, conversion of industrial warehouses to detention facilities implicates local land use ordinances; and

WHEREAS, such facilities, being hastily erected in areas and structures not intended for human occupation, would place unanticipated demands upon water and sewer systems, creating hazards to public health, as well as heaping new strain upon public safety services; and

WHEREAS, under the federal Clean Water Act, federal agencies must comply with all federal, state, and local requirements governing the control and abatement of water pollution and no facility can be connected to a municipal sewage system and no building can be occupied without first obtaining a permit indicating that the site is in compliance with the provisions of the Sewage Facilities Act. 33 U.S.C. § 1323 and 35 P.S. § 750.7; and

WHEREAS, Governor Shapiro identified and communicated similar concerns regarding ICE warehouse conversions to Secretary Kristi Noem, DHS, in a letter dated February 12, 2026; and

WHEREAS, echoing the Governor, it is a primary objective of the County to ensure the public safety and welfare of its residents, business community, and visitors; and

WHEREAS, the conversion of industrial warehouses into mass detention facilities does not align with the goals or shared values of equity, sustainability, resilience, and health and well-being of the people of the County of Bucks.

NOW THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED the Board of Commissioners is opposed to the conversion of industrial warehouses into facilities for the processing and/or detention of ICE detainees for the reasons previously set forth.

ADOPTED as a Resolution of the Board of Commissioners of the County of Bucks this 18th day of February 2026.