FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Julia Somers, Executive Director, NJ Highlands Coalition, 973-525-2768 julia@njhighlandscoalition.org
DATELINE – Today, a nonpartisan coalition of environmental organizations and Roxbury community residents filed a motion and a proposed amicus brief supporting New Jersey’s and Roxbury Township’s request for a preliminary injunction to the United States District Court of New Jersey. The emergency request seeks to stop the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from converting a vacant industrial warehouse in Roxbury into a mass immigration detention facility.
The warehouse is in the New Jersey Highlands, a 1,300-square-mile, environmentally vital region stretching from Philipsburg on the Delaware River to West Milford and Mahwah on the New York border, encompassing 88 municipalities across seven counties. Designated for protection, it provides clean drinking water to over 6.2 million residents (two-thirds of the state) while offering significant scenic, historic, and recreational areas.
On March 20, 2026 New Jersey and Roxbury filed a complaint and subsequently on April 7 requested emergency relief because DHS has indicated it plans to engage in construction activities as early as late May. The construction threatens New Jerseyans’ drinking water resources, environmental justice communities already overburdened with stressors, important but constrained sewer service systems, a state-issued environmental protection easement, and other environmental harms. Earlier in March of 2026, another federal court found an identical DHS decision to convert a warehouse into an ICE detention facility likely unlawful because federal law requires fully assessing the impacts on state and local infrastructure and environmental resources.
“This warehouse conversion in the midst of New Jersey’s environmentally sensitive Highlands Region must be stopped because federal law requires a hard look at the impacts and none has been offered,” said Julia Somers, the Executive Director of the Highlands Coalition. “The Highlands Region is protected because the State Legislature found that it is a ‘landscape of special significance’ and an important source of drinking water depended on by over 70% of the State’s residents.”
“DHS and ICE’s misguided decision to target the Roxbury Township property for their detention center makes absolutely no sense as this property is largely protected from further development through a conservation easement,” said Alison Mitchell, executive director of New Jersey Conservation Foundation. “From an environmental protection standpoint, their plans run afoul of federal requirements and counter to New Jersey’s efforts to protect critical wildlife habitat and the Highlands region.”
Concerned Residents of the Roxbury Community, a group of local residents most immediately affected by DHS’s plans, joined the brief to provide first-hand perspective on what the conversion would mean for daily life in Roxbury.
Ann Mauro, a member of the Concerned Residents, wrote, “I’ve lived in Roxbury Township for nearly 30 years and have been actively involved the entire time. My family went through the public school system, played on teams at the parks, and volunteered with local groups to serve our community. Our neighborhoods, parks, clubs, businesses and schools all reflect the people who live here, and all would be negatively impacted by an ICE warehouse.”
“In a state that has repeated and sustained periods of strains on its drinking water supply, we cannot allow a warehouse of people when the federal government has not examined the infrastructure to support and house thousands of detainees and support staff” shared Winn Khuong, Executive Director, Action Together New Jersey.
Anne Poole, President of the New Jersey Environmental Lobby, added, “This project is a violation of the 50+ year-old National Environmental Policy Act, which requires that Federally-funded projects be evaluated for their environmental and social impacts prior to a decision to proceed. The New Jersey Highlands are protected by State law because of their value to the drinking water supplied to millions of New Jerseyans beyond the Highlands. This proposal is a slap in the face to the residents of New Jersey and in a larger context, to states’ rights.”
“The Skylands Preservation Alliance has long worked to preserve farmland and valuable natural resources from inappropriate development in the Highlands Region. It is a challenge to think of anything more intensive in its impact than allowing a change of use from a goods warehouse to a human detention center with over a thousand people. We are in opposition to it and demand to be heard.”” said Tracey Wilson Heisler, Board President, Skylands Preservation Alliance.
“The proposed warehouse conversion by DHS is an abomination to local communities, public infrastructure, and natural resources. The federal government’s willingness to target our most vulnerable neighbors by any means necessary, rather than supporting and uplifting communities, is a gross misuse of public tax dollars. Climate Revolution Action Network is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Roxbury residents and our partners to fight this flagrantly illegal federal overreach,” shared Chris Sotiro, Deputy Executive Director, Climate Revolution Action Network
Michele Langa, Esq. of Hackensack Riverkeeper said, “We joined this effort to ensure that NJ water stewards stand strong together against this threat to our water quality and quantity. The Highlands Region watershed is not prepared to properly handle the intensity of DHS’s and ICE’s proposed use. Large-scale detention facilities are continuous sources of pollution to our watershed. When thousands are held in high-density conditions, the risk of sewage overflows, contaminated runoff, and the discharge of industrial disinfectants into our groundwater threatens the drinking water.”
“New Jersey’s Highlands are not an expendable backdrop for federal mismanagement—they are the source of drinking water for millions of New Jerseyans and a protected environmental treasure,” said Allison McLeod, Interim Executive Director, New Jersey LCV. “Moving forward with the conversion of this facility into a mass detention center without fully accounting for the environmental and infrastructure impacts is reckless. We stand with New Jersey and Roxbury Township in supporting the request for an injunction to stop this project before irreversible harm is done to our water, our communities, and our public trust.”
