DHS nominee pledges to visit Roxbury ICE warehouse
By: William Westhoven
Morristown Daily Record
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... The controversy surrounding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement warehouse for use as an immigrate detention center got a national spotlight during confirmation hearings for Senator Markwayne Mullin as the next U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.
.....
Speaking before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on March 18, [2026] Mullin acknowledged infrastructure and other issues faced by Roxbury and other towns where DHS plans to convert warehouses into immigrant detention centers, and pledged to visit the Morris County town to meet with local officials/
..... Corresponding to grilling by New Jersey Senator Andy Kim about concerns expressed by Roxbury's all-Republican council, Mullin said: "Let's you and I get on the phone with the mayor. If I'm confirmed, I'll make a trip out there and see it for myself because it;s a big concern of yours, and we want to address those concerns."
..... The fiery hearing was highlighted by a confrontation with committee Chairman Rand Paul, but Mullin struck a conciliatory tone while speaking about other issues that came up during hours of questioning.
..... Kim, who has been critical of the Roxbury purchase, described the 470,00-square-foot facility as "the size of eight football fields, to house over 1,500 detainees" that, with ICE staff, would "increase the town population by 10%."
..... Never once did an ICE official go and talk to the local mayor, talk to the local law enforcement, assess the situation alongside the locals," Kim said, echoing complaints from the Roxbury council, which has been under fire from anti-ICE protesters at every meeting since the purchase was first rumored in December. [2025]
..... "So I just want to ask you, is it fair that DHS is imposing these types of large-scale detection facilities without local engagement and input?" Kim asked.
..... "Realistically, most municipalities don't have the capacity in their infrastructure for wast and water," Mullin replied. "So it's important that we're talking to communities, and if we're having additional needs, we can work with the cities. We should always communicate with them. I agree with that."
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"We want them. I agree with that," but we also want peace of mind and [to] bring back confidence to the Department of Homeland Security," Mullin continued, "And all this means that we gotta work on that. And I will work on that."
..... Roxbury Township Attorney and state Republican Senator Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, reacting to Mullin's comments, said, "I am glad to hear the Homeland Security secretary nominee has agreed to visit the site for himself."
..... "This is long overdue," Bucco said.
..... Kim was less impressed with the testimony, positing after the hearing that "I will still be voting no on Senator Mullin's nomination."
..... "And if he is confirmed, I'll work aggressively to hold him to the commitments he made to New Jerseyans during today's [03/18/2026] confirmation hearing," Kim wrote. "the failures at the Department of Homeland Security and the accountability needed runs far deeper than just who holds the title of Secretary. Donald Trump and ins cronies - Stephen Miller and Tom Homan - continue to show no intention of ending the lawlessness that's taken lives in our streets or the terror they are inflicting on immigrant communities."
..... During the hearing, Mullin also said he regrets calling Alex Pretti "a deranged individual that came in to case max damage" soon after the intensive-care nurse was killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier in March [2026] refused to apologize for labeling Pretti a domestic terrorist.
..... But Paul, a fellow Republican from Kentucky, blasted Mullin for saying he understood why a neighbor violently attacked the senator in 2017 and questioned whether he could lead a department criticized for use of excessive force.
..... The Senate panel advanced Mullin's nomination on March 19. [2026]
..... USA Today contributed to this report.