BY GUY CITRON

Two weeks ago, April 24, 2026, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) filed their response to the State of New Jersey and Roxbury Township’s preliminary injunction lawsuit to halt ICE from converting a local warehouse into a detention center. DHS argues it has caused no harm at the site. The State and Roxbury argue that misusing this warehouse will cause serious harm. That’s the contradiction. That’s the story.

The State argues that DHS made a final decision to establish a detention facility and moved forward without the required analysis or consultation. That’s the foundational issue. The harm isn’t speculative. The process failure is the proof. That’s why the National Environmental Policy Act requires agencies to evaluate environmental impacts before a final decision.

DHS plans to house up to 1,500 ICE detainees in a warehouse that currently has four toilets. They’ll need to increase water and sewage supply by more than fifteen-fold. That creates real engineering risks that pose serious problems for the local community. And none of it has been studied in advance.

That’s the bipartisan common ground between Roxbury and the State of New Jersey. This isn’t about whether they “like” detention centers. It’s about the fact that the public never meaningfully had a say in the process. Now the federal government evades or deflects, instead of answering concrete questions about the real consequences of the project. That’s power without accountability. That’s tyranny.

This is the core argument that DHS is losing. They are moving forward as if the decision is final, without accepting the responsibilities that come with it. If the decision hasn’t been made, why is the facility being prepared? And if the decision has been made, why wasn’t the required analysis done first? The State asked whether the necessary process had been followed. DHS’s answer, in effect, was no.

If mass incarceration at that warehouse in Roxbury begins, it will harm the town and its surroundings. There’s not enough water in the system. There’s not enough sewage infrastructure to handle that level of demand. Local emergency services were already stretched during early protests. The environmental and financial crisis will be catastrophic.

Not doing harm is not the same as protecting. The federal government has a responsibility to answer, clearly and publicly, for what its decisions will do to the people they serve. Roxbury asked those questions. New Jersey asked those questions. They still haven’t been answered.

The next hearing in federal court is on Tuesday, May 12, at 9:30 am. The venue is the U.S. Courthouse at 50 Walnut Street, Newark, NJ 07102. There will be a rally. Please attend.