HARRISBURG — The Shapiro administration is warning federal officials that it will not issue required state permits for two planned immigration detention centers if initial reporting about the facilities is accurate.
In a letter dated Feb. 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro told Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that her department’s record is reason enough to oppose planned ICE facilities in Berks and Schuylkill Counties.
“But as described further in the attached letter from members of my Cabinet, 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.
>>READ MORE: Everything you need to know about ICE’s plan to open a detention center in Berks County
For example, Shapiro writes that using the nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Upper Bern Township as a detention center “would likely result in more than 14 times the legally permitted amount of wastewater.”
A separate letter signed by the state secretaries of environmental protection and health, as well as the state fire commissioner and director of emergency management, cites reporting that indicates up to 9,000 people could be held at the facilities.
“If reporting about DHS’s plans is accurate, the facilities will violate legal requirements applicable to public drinking water, sewage, and water pollution,” the officials write. “State authorities will not issue required permits that would violate these legal requirements.”
Read the letters here or below: