The governor accuses the Trump Administration and DHS of “chilling disregard for human life” in letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Trenton, N.J. – Governor Mikie Sherrill is taking direct aim at the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, vowing that New Jersey will fight a federal plan to convert a Roxbury Township warehouse into a massive Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center capable of holding up to 1,500 people.
In a sharply worded letter sent February 27 to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Sherrill condemned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for what she called a lack of transparency, disregard for community input, and “inhumane” treatment of detainees in ICE custody. The governor said her administration will use “every tool at our disposal” to stop the project and protect local residents.
Key Points
- Governor Sherrill sent a formal letter opposing DHS’s plan to open an ICE detention facility in Roxbury Township.
- She criticized what she called the Trump Administration’s disregard for transparency and human rights.
- The announcement follows a federal lawsuit filed by DHS over Sherrill’s executive order banning ICE operations on state-owned property.
“DHS’s lack of communication is inexcusable”
In the letter, Sherrill rebuked federal officials for failing to notify Roxbury leaders about the plan, saying residents learned of the proposal only through a newspaper article. “The people of Roxbury deserve better than to learn of a plan to place an immigration detention facility in their community through a newspaper article,” she wrote.
Sherrill said DHS ignored outreach from local officials and has not addressed community concerns. “DHS’s failure to engage with Roxbury residents and address the concerns of Roxbury officials belies the Trump Administration’s professed commitment to transparency in government,” the letter said.
Environmental and community impact concerns
The governor also raised alarms about the project’s scope. DHS intends to retrofit a 470,000-square-foot industrial warehouse into a detention center that would become the largest such facility in New Jersey. Sherrill said the plan threatens to overwhelm the region’s infrastructure and environment.
“The placement of a massive immigration detention center in Roxbury raises environmental and quality of life concerns,” Sherrill wrote, citing risks of increased traffic, wastewater, and strain on municipal services. “We are unaware of any steps that DHS has taken to assess the disruption to residents or the environmental impact.”
She also argued that the project would jeopardize the region’s growing logistics and warehousing economy, which she described as a $300 billion engine supporting more than a million jobs statewide.
“These acts of violence have left Americans severely injured”
Sherrill went further, criticizing ICE for what she called a pattern of abuse and constitutional violations. “Across the country, federal immigration officers have trampled on basic liberties and engaged in unconscionable acts of violence against law-abiding Americans,” she wrote. “These acts of violence have left Americans severely injured and, in some cases, resulted in their deaths.”
Citing poor conditions at ICE facilities such as Elizabeth Detention Center and Delaney Hall, Sherrill wrote that such centers “are not suitable for human confinement,” describing reports of overcrowding, spoiled food, and inadequate medical care as “an affront to the values that New Jerseyans hold dear.”
“DHS’s treatment of human beings—citizen and non-citizen alike—reflects a chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law,” she said. “New Jersey will not be complicit in this.”
Clash with the Trump Administration
The confrontation comes just days after the Department of Homeland Security filed a lawsuit against New Jersey, challenging Sherrill’s executive order banning federal immigration agents from operating on state-owned property.
Sherrill responded defiantly on social media, writing, “The lack of transparency, projected strain on our community, and inhumane conditions in these detention facilities are unacceptable. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect New Jerseyans.”
In her letter, the governor said the state will assess “all options to protect the community’s infrastructure, public safety, health, and long-term economic stability,” including ensuring DHS complies with federal environmental and immigration laws.
“If DHS fails to do so,” Sherrill warned, “New Jersey will not hesitate to protect the interests of Roxbury residents and our communities using every tool at our disposal.”
Tags: New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, immigration
