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Residents urge Sussex County to oppose proposed ICE detention center near Lake Muskanetkong
Summary
Public commenters at the March 11 commissioners meeting urged the board’s new representative to the Lake Muskanetkong planning board to oppose a proposed conversion of a nearby warehouse into a federal detention facility, citing water and sewage capacity and local opposition in Roxberry.
Several residents used the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners’ March 11 public comment period to press county leaders to oppose what they said is a planned conversion of a local warehouse into a federal immigration detention center.
Ken Collins of Andover Township, speaking about agenda item 13A (the appointment of Commissioner Jack Degrroot to the Lake Muskanetkong regional planning board), said the warehouse site lies roughly 150 yards from Lake Muskanetkong and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “intends to convert [the warehouse] into a federal detention center for illegal aliens.” Collins warned the conversion would “demand a much higher water draw” and additional sewage capacity beyond what the area was designed to handle. He directly asked the incoming county representative: “Will you stand with Roxberry and do all you can to oppose this poorly conceived idea for a federal detention center?”
Kathy Brennan of Hampton Township echoed Collins’s concerns, telling the board the proposed facility is “not the right fit” and warning of wastewater management and water‑quality problems.
Board members did not take formal action on any detention‑facility proposal during the meeting. Commissioner Degrroot’s appointment to the regional planning board was approved by roll call later in the meeting. The speakers’ claims about an ICE conversion and specific infrastructure impacts were raised as public allegations; no county staff report or formal planning action on that proposed conversion was presented at the March 11 meeting.
