Commissioners: Governor's duty to stop ICE facility in Tremont Twp. - Pottsville Republican Herald

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Trinity Audioplayer ready...POTTSVILLE — The Schuylkill County Commissioners are depending on Gov. Josh Shapiro to stop the planned ICE detention center in Tremont Twp., but acknowledged that their main focus is to protect Schuylkill County residents and taxpayers.

Commissioners Chairman Larry Padora began Wednesday’s work session with a recap of last week’s meeting with Gov. Josh Shapiro over the planned facilities in Tremont and Upper Bern townships.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to use the 1.3 million-square-foot former Big Lots Distribution Center, at 50 Rausch Creek Road, to hold 7,500 people as a detention center. Deeds recorded on Feb. 2 confirmed the purchase of that facility, and another warehouse in Upper Bern Twp., Berks County.

Padora acknowledged Shapiro’s statement last week that he would “use every tool” to try to avert the plans for the centers. Padora’s takeaway from the meeting, he said, was the governor’s office would have the ability to fight against the centers, while the county would work to ensure that local residents, infrastructure and utilities are minimally impacted.

“If he has the ability to stop it, that’s on the governor’s level,” he said. “The county is going to keep moving forward and keep having discussions to make sure that, if the governor fails, that the county residents and taxpayers and ratepayers and our infrastructure is protected. That we have all the protections in place.”

Commissioner Barron L. “Boots” Hetherington made a similar assessment.

“(Shapiro) said he was going to pursue this, and we said, ‘Fine — you do that, and in the meantime, we’re plan B,’” he said. “If it does go through, we want to make sure that Tremont does have the water, sewage, infrastructure. Once again, we told him that money was not the issue. It’s human rights.”

Padora said the county has asked DHS to facilitate monthly inspections of the site, should plans proceed.

A member of the public asked the commissioners to clarify their stance on the center, noting that Gary Hess has gone on record as being opposed to it.

“How about the other two?” she said.

Padora said that every Republican official at last week’s meeting took the same stance on the issue. He said he refuses to be dragged into “a political debate” about immigration policy but will fight for the residents of Schuylkill County if the department’s plans come to fruition. Hetherington conveyed a similar stance.

“We might not be happy with the situation … our personal opinion has nothing to do with what’s going on,” Padora said. “(Shapiro) has the power to stop it, it’s at the governor’s level. We have to work with ICE and try to make sure that if they come here, that everything’s protected.”

During public comment, Lisa Von Ahn of Pottsville expressed disappointment she hasn’t seen more vocal opposition from the commissioners.

She lamented the “secretive way” the DHS proceeded with its plans, apparently without input from local leaders or from U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser.

“I just get the sense of trust in an untrustworthy administration,” she said. “ … I think it would be great, just on principle alone, opposing this facility instead of trying to hope that somehow this administration will make something that’s abhorrent beyond words a little less terrible.”

While many have criticized the DHS’s seeming lack of transparency, letters obtained by Spotlight PA indicate a state agency learned about the warehouse plans as early as Jan. 9, the outlet reported. The DHS had sent the letters to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, whose governing members are appointed by the governor.

Von Ahn pointed out the larger issues of immigration unfolding across the country, and pleaded with commissioners “to just resist the whole thing.”

“I know that you keep saying that you’re concerned only for the county, but we’re all Americans here,” she said. “It’s a terrible thing that our country has come to this. A lot of the people in this county are descendants of the people who fought against such things in World War II.”