Feds drop plans for ICE detention center in Roxbury
By: John Connolly
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... The Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Roxbury is not moving forward, state officials have announced.
.....
"Today the Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that it is backing down and will not try to establish a mass detention center at an industrial warehouse in Roxbury. This is a major victory for the State and for the township of Roxbury," Governor Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a joint statement on June 29. [2026]
..... The proposed Morris County facility, a warehouse property purchased to serve as an ICE detention center, faced intense criticism from local
residents, environmental advocates and officials who argued that these site was unsuitable for housing detainees.
.....
"This has never been a partisan case, because the plan to establish a detention center at the Roxbury warehouse was always unlawful. converting a warehouse for packages into a detention center for thousands of people would not only be inhumane but also have devastating local and environmental impacts - and it would not make New Jersey, any safer," Sherrill and Davenport said.
.....
ICE agreed to buy the vacant warehouse on Route 46 for $129.3 million in February, [2026] sparking opposition from Democratic leaders, including Governor Mikie Sherrill, and the all-Republican council in Roxbury Township. The state and the township sought a court injunction on April 7 [2026] to halt any constructions.
..... A joint status report filed in court by both parties on June 29 [2026] said: "defendants no longer intend to convert the Roxbury warehouse into an immigration detention facility and intend to sell the warehouse."
..... An update will be provided to the court no later than July 17. [2026]