It appears that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is actively seeking to open detention centers in Monticello and/or Liberty, NY.

In Monticello, NY, the Heiden Road Riverside Warehouse 24 site is before the Town of Thompson Planning Board and is under State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) review. This project proposes a 1.5 million square foot warehouse and trucking terminal without identifying a tenant or end-user. The end user could end up being ICE. This project requires careful monitoring and citizen participation.

In Chester, NY, ICE stated that they had purchased a site for a detention center, then, days later, said that the statement was a “mistake”. There is intense local opposition to this project. This is a developing story.

Monticello, NY

The Heiden Road Riverside Warehouse 24 project is before the Town of Thompson Planning Board and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is being prepared. The scope of the project is defined in this document. Note that the end user is not defined. Additional information can be found on the Planning Board website.

This document explains important legal ramifications of the approval process and why questions must be answered in advance. In land-use and environmental review, it is legally permissible for developers to seek approval for a facility before identifying a tenant. This is the case with the Heiden Road project. Once a project of this scale receives final land-use approvals without use-based limitations, the ability of the community to influence future outcomes is significantly diminished. If you are concerned about the possibility of an ICE detention facility in Monticello, you can act now by commenting on the DEIS (see below).

This document makes important comments to the Town of Thompson Planning Board on the Heiden Road project DEIS. It includes a wealth of information you can use to help prepare your own questions and comments. This project is large enough and environmentally sensitive enough that incomplete analysis or open-ended future uses would create irreversible harm to the Neversink River watershed and to the Town of Thompson. For the DEIS to be adequate, it must include worst-case operational assumptions, robust water and stormwater analysis, and binding conditions preventing detention-type uses.

Questions and comments should be directed to the Planning Board Secretary:
Laura Eppers
Planning Board Secretary
845-794-2500 x321
planning@townofthompson.com
Make your voice heard! Get your comments and questions to the Planning Board!

Chester, NY

* Spectrum News, Feb. 12: ICE says it has purchased Hudson Valley site for detention facilities. *

This statement came in response to growing bipartisan opposition in Chester and Orange County to the project.
Congressman Pat Ryan (District 18, NY) spoke out against the proposed facility:

“Secretary Noem can tell however many lies she wants in statements to the press,” Ryan said in a statement. “It does nothing to hide the fact that our community strongly rejects ICE building a mass detention-facility right in our backyard. It’s shameful, un-American, and the exact opposite of everything the Hudson Valley stands for. There is not a single local elected official, Democratic or Republican, who wants this or has even been consulted for that matter. We will not let them bring the chaos and carnage we’ve seen in Minneapolis to our community.”

This facility is proceeding under subterfuge, hidden from the community and not following normal channels or seeking approvals in the normal fashion.

See the following video: Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus Statement on ICE Facility, Chester, NY

* Mid Hudson News, Feb. 18: Feds retract statement about Chester purchase. *

ICE backtracked on its statement last week that it had purchased the former Pep Boys warehouse in Chester for a detention center.

There is overwhelming bipartisan opposition to the proposed ICE facility in Chester. The Town Supervisor believes that ICE still plans on purchasing the former Pep Boys warehouse, located at 29 Elizabeth Drive. Local officials have asked residents to write opposition letters to the real estate and brokerage firms involved in the sale.

More Information on the Fight Against ICE Detention Facilities

Harry Litman breaks down ICE’s plan to spend 38.3 billion taxpayer dollars to convert warehouses into massive detention centers, sparking accusations that the administration is building concentration camps as part of it’s mass deportation efforts.

Conservative Georgia town pushes back against ICE detention center: ‘We are Americans after all’.