US EditionIce Detention Center in Berks County, Pennsylvania: What You Need to Know
Facility could double Upper Bern Township's population to 3,100, raising concerns over water, sewer, emergency services, and a potential $828,000 tax revenue loss, officials said.
- On Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, Upper Bern Township supervisors met after last week’s news that ICE purchased a 62-acre property at 3501 Mountain Road containing a 527000-square-foot warehouse planned as an immigration processing facility.
- Faced with the purchase, supervisors pointed to immediate infrastructure strains including the planned facility’s 1,500-person capacity potentially overwhelming local water and wastewater systems and limits from federal sovereign immunity and preemption.
- More than 50 people attended the supervisors’ meeting and voiced concerns about infrastructure and safety, while Tom Rank and Ray Kuhn supported the plan or hoped for federal compensation during the 30-minute public comment period.
- The supervisors issued a written statement saying they will focus on health, safety and welfare impacts and explore with county, state and federal officials how the federal government will address infrastructure and emergency-service needs at its expense.
- State officials including Gov. Josh Shapiro have criticized the purchase and noted options are `fairly slim`; local emergency responders warned it could strain volunteer fire and EMS while advocates said it mirrors a national trend of more than 20 similar facility conversions.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Daily Local News
Berks residents sound off on ICE detention center plans for warehouse
It wasn’t their typical morning meeting. In the 30 minutes before the Upper Bern Township supervisors were scheduled to call their monthly meeting to order at 9 a.m. Thursday, the meeting room at the township building slowly filled. More than 50 people — some sitting in the plastic and metal chairs set up in tidy rows and others standing wherever they could find room — found their way inside. They weren’t there to hear the board approve paying t…
Residents share views about ICE detention center at warehouse with Upper Bern Township officials
It wasn’t their typical morning meeting. In the 30 minutes before the Upper Bern Township supervisors were scheduled to call their monthly meeting to order at 9 a.m. Thursday, the meeting room at the township building slowly filled. More than 50 people — some sitting in the plastic and metal chairs set up in tidy rows and others standing wherever they could find room — found their way inside. They weren’t there to hear the board approve paying t…
Residents share views about ICE detention center at Berks warehouse with township officials
It wasn’t their typical morning meeting. In the 30 minutes before the Upper Bern Township supervisors were scheduled to call their monthly meeting to order at 9 a.m. Thursday, the meeting room at the township building slowly filled. More than 50 people — some sitting in the plastic and metal chairs set up in tidy rows and others standing wherever they could find room — found their way inside. They weren’t there to hear the board approve paying t…
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Neighbors of planned ICE detention center in Berks County say opposition crosses political lines
Upper Bern Township residents say they were blindsided by the $87.4 million purchase and are looking for ways to block ICE’s plan.
UPPER BERN — The Trump administration this week finalized the purchase of an $87.4 million warehouse in Berks County that, according to a member of Congress, will be used as an ICE processing and detention center. Here's what we know so far: This story will be updated periodically. Last posted at 4 p.m. on February 10. Tips: Do you have a tip about ICE's plans for detention centers in Pennsylvania? Do you have a question you want us to answer? …
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