Blog - ICE Scraps Plans for Rural PA Detention Centers

Source: WHYY News by Susan Phillips.

The federal government is officially dropping its plans to turn two warehouses in Berks and Schuylkill counties into immigration detention centers that would have housed up to 9,000 people.

Governor Josh Shapiro announced that the Department of Homeland Security withdrew its requests for the necessary water and sewage permits. The reversal follows strong opposition from the state. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had previously prohibited the project, estimating the massive facility would demand 800,000 gallons of water daily.

DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley noted that adding a 9,000-person facility would double the population of the surrounding rural communities. This surge would have severely strained local drinking water supplies and risked overwhelming sewage systems, potentially leaking raw waste into local waterways. State officials view the withdrawal as a vital step in protecting the local environment and community infrastructure.

For my part, I think looking at environmental and infrastructure regulations is a clever way to stop a horrific thing. I'll take the win, but that we have to resort to these work-around tactics instead of "Maybe we don't build concentration camps" is just too bold in today's United States is a damn shame.