GOP Rep. Tom Kean Asks Trump Admin to "Review" Massive New Jersey ICE Jail -- But Won't Say If He Opposes It

Rep. Tom Kean Jr. wants the Trump administration to think really hard about turning a Roxbury, New Jersey warehouse into a massive immigrant detention center. Just don't ask him if he's actually against it.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin this week, Kean requested the department "take a deeper look" at the federal plan and "give careful consideration" to local opposition. What he didn't do: take a position on whether the detention center should exist at all.

"I respectfully request that the Department take a deeper look at the proposal and give careful consideration to the concerns raised by local officials, while working collaboratively with multiple levels of government to identify the most appropriate path forward," Kean wrote, in the kind of carefully hedged language that commits to nothing.

The Trump administration purchased the 470,000-square-foot warehouse off Route 46 for $129 million in late February as part of its nationwide mass deportation infrastructure buildout. According to a lawsuit filed by Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Roxbury's all-Republican town council, federal officials plan to open the detention center as early as June.

The facility would be the largest immigrant jail in New Jersey -- a state that already operates two privately owned detention centers -- and the second to open during Trump's second term.

Local Officials Say Kean Left Them Hanging

Roxbury officials who oppose the plan went public earlier this year with complaints that Kean "did not provide the advocacy our residents deserved." The congressman disputes that characterization, claiming in his letter that he has been "actively engaged on this issue on a daily basis" since December 2025, when reports first surfaced about the Trump administration eyeing warehouse purchases for detention facilities.

But active engagement apparently doesn't include telling constituents where he stands. Kean, a Republican facing a tough reelection fight this fall in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, has walked a careful line -- expressing concern about local infrastructure strain while avoiding any statement that might anger the Trump administration or immigration hardliners.

In his letter, Kean echoed local officials' concerns that the detention center would strain area infrastructure and public safety services. "It is important that these local considerations are comprehensively evaluated as part of the Department's decision-making process," he wrote.

Translation: Please think about this, but I'm not going to tell you what conclusion you should reach.

Mullin Promised to Visit -- But Hasn't

Mullin was confirmed as Homeland Security secretary on March 23 after facing tough questioning from Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) about the Roxbury plan. During his confirmation hearing, Mullin promised to visit the area. A Homeland Security spokesperson did not respond when asked whether that visit is scheduled.

The detention center plan is part of the Trump administration's broader effort to expand immigration detention capacity nationwide. Civil rights groups have documented systemic abuses in ICE detention facilities, including inadequate medical care, family separations, and deaths in custody. New Jersey's existing private detention centers have faced their own allegations of civil rights violations and inhumane conditions.

Kean's carefully worded request for "a workable solution" suggests he's hoping the problem will somehow resolve itself without him having to take a stand that might cost him votes. Local officials and residents opposing the facility, meanwhile, are left wondering whether their congressman is actually fighting for them -- or just trying to look like he is.

The lawsuit filed by Gov. Sherrill and Roxbury officials remains pending. With the facility potentially opening in June, time is running out for Kean to decide whether he's willing to do more than ask the Trump administration to "take a deeper look."