Many eyes are on Roxbury Township as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to convert a 470,000-square-foot industrial warehouse on Route 46 into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center capable of holding up to 1,500 detainees.

Roxbury officials were reportedly blindsided by the proposal and have expressed frustration over DHS’ lack of response to their repeated outreach efforts to discuss their concerns.

New Jersey’s U.S. Sen. Andy Kim has intervened in support of Roxbury, demanding answers from DHS and has introduced a bill to prevent ICE from converting warehouses into detention centers. Recently, Gov. Sherrill fired off a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem strongly opposing the Roxbury ICE detention center, “using every tool at our disposal to protect the interests of Roxbury residents and our communities”.

Residents across northern New Jersey are mobilizing against the plan, citing human and constitutional rights violations, including the violent rounding up of suspected undocumented immigrants and detention in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

Additionally, there are fears that opening a detention facility in Roxbury could intensify ICE operations in Morris County.

The proposed location in Roxbury is unsuitable for a detention facility for several reasons. Here are three:

• The property is environmentally constrained, with a conservation easement covering the undeveloped portion.
• A detention center is not a permitted use in the zone, and the site is in a residential area.
• Most critically, the facility lacks adequate wastewater capacity. According to DHS, the proposed facility would hold up to 1,500 detainees, which would generate 157,000 gallons of wastewater daily, far exceeding the capacity of the regional sewage plant.

Comparatively, Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, has a capacity of 1,000 detainees. The Roxbury warehouse, which is four times larger than Delaney Hall, could theoretically hold up to 4,000 detainees, producing nearly 420,000 gallons of wastewater daily.

Roxbury is a fully conformed municipality within the Highlands region. Such a facility would conflict with several provisions of the Highlands Regional Master Plan, adding another level of legal barriers to DHS’ plan.

The Supremacy Clause, which invalidates state and local laws that conflict with federal laws on federally owned lands and institutions, raises questions about whether municipal, regional, and state regulations could be invalidated. However, the situation is complex.

New Jersey laws governing sewer service areas, sewage discharge permitting, and sewage capacity constraints are enforced under a memorandum of understanding between the EPA and the NJDEP, granting New Jersey authority to enforce sections of the federal Clean Water Act.

New Jersey regulations that would prohibit the detention center because of wastewater capacity constraints mirror federal regulations.

Additionally, the federal Highlands Conservation Act of 2004 emphasizes the importance of protecting, conserving, and restoring the resources of the Highlands region, noting that state and local governments bear primary responsibility for these efforts.

This suggests that environmental constraints under the Highlands Act and the Highlands Regional Master Plan are not in conflict with but align with federal policy.

Even if the federal government identified a legal basis to bypass state and municipal regulations, the Supremacy Clause does not exempt it from adhering to federal laws, including the Clean Water Act.

DHS would also need to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, which mandates federal agencies to evaluate the environmental impacts of major projects before implementation. NEPA requires public participation and the preparation of Environmental Impact Statements or Assessments for significant actions.

Even if DHS found a way to circumvent federal laws, it would still need to address the wastewater challenges posed by the facility to avoid a health and safety crisis— a problem that looks to be quite real and insurmountable.