Montgomery County resolution opposes ICE detention centers - Reading Eagle

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Trinity Audioplayer ready...NORRISTOWN — A resolution barring federal immigration agents from conducting civil enforcement operations using Montgomery County-owned property or resources, authorized Thursday, includes stipulations about detention facilities.

The resolution, which passed 2-1 during a Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting, included language amid an uptick in property acquisitions made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“Montgomery County opposes the use of warehouses or similar industrial facilities not intended for human occupancy as facilities to hold, jail, detain, house, or otherwise store human beings; and foresees further likelihood of quota-driven violations of constitutional rights and due process,” the resolution states.

[Montgomery County elected officials condemn ICE raid in Trooper]

The two Democratic commissioners, Jamila H. Winder and Neil Makhija, voted in favor of the resolution. The board’s lone Republican, Thomas DiBello, opposed it.

Around $45 billion was appropriated by Congress for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to “build new immigration mass scale detention centers to meet increased daily quotas for detention,” according to the resolution, implemented as part of the nationwide federal immigration crackdown that’s become a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

Two purchases have been made in recent weeks in Berks and Schuylkill counties, with plans to transform the existing warehouses for the aforementioned purposes. Montgomery County officials acknowledged how land purchases in nearby counties “raises the likelihood of increased ICE activity in the region.”

“The detention centers that are being established in Pennsylvania would be the largest prisons in the state, and they are attempting to use warehouses, which are not meant for the … the storage of human beings, which is what this administration wants them to be,” Makhija said.

The federal agency spent $87.4 million on a 527,000-square-foot warehouse in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, and nearly $120 million for a 1.3-million-square-foot warehouse in Tremont Township in Schuylkill County, per media reports. The facilities will have the capacity to hold up to 1,500 people and 7,500 people, respectively, according to a statement from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office.

“When that happens, you will see a quota-driven incentive to violate constitutional rights and due process and that will occur across Pennsylvania as a result,” Makhija said. “So we have to make sure we will not participate in this. That we will not lend our resources toward this project.”

“And I’m thankful that the governor has made clear that he will use every legal tool at his disposal to stop these detention facilities being opened across the commonwealth,” he continued, “and absolutely we should do the same here in Montgomery County, to ensure that none of our county properties or land are used for any such purpose.”

DiBello pressed his Democratic colleagues over the decision to reference actions taking place outside the county’s geographic boundaries.

“I’m not sure why we would have a resolution that we’re referring to what’s happening in other counties. We’re … elected individuals for Montgomery County,” DiBello said.

[Montco commissioners pledge ‘collaboration’ at State of the County]

Makhija and DiBello shared their differing viewpoints on the matter when addressing reporters following the 2026 State of the County address.

Makhija noted that “ultimately, it’s up to zoning authority of local officials” when it comes to whether or not related projects are permitted. However, Makhija maintained “there’s local opposition in both of those places and elsewhere.”

“The amount of funding that has been allocated to this raises concerns everywhere,” Makhija said last month.

“Just like the funding that’s been going on for multiple years for multiple presidencies. This is not new,” DiBello said last month.

“We have an immigration issue that needs to be addressed. We have laws that are in place. We need to go back and review the law of 1996 that President Clinton signed into effect, which talks about due process,” DiBello said, stressing, “I will support the rule of law. I will stand with law enforcement, and … if people want changes, they need to go to Washington and ask them and promote those changes.”