1879 Route 46 in Roxbury — File photo
By Joshua Burd
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly has closed on a 470,000-square-foot warehouse in Roxbury that it plans to use as a detention center, completing a long-rumored deal that has sparked intense backlash in recent weeks and confusion in recent days.
Multiple news outlets Friday confirmed the transaction at 1879 Route 46, citing statements from the agency, the township and multiple elected officials who criticized the sale by Dalfen Industrial. The new but long-vacant facility is now slated to become an immigrant processing center and at least the third significant ICE facility in New Jersey, part of what TAPinto Roxbury described as a growing network of staging locations handling some 1,000 to 1,500 detainees at a time.
Terms of the sale were not immediately available Friday.
The prospect of ICE buying the building emerged late last year in a report by The Washington post, setting off weeks of protests in the township and surrounding communities. Local officials have also condemned the proposal, as they did again Friday after being told days earlier that the sale was not taking place and after the Department of Homeland Security gave conflicting answers to media queries about the transaction.
“Let us be clear: Roxbury Township will not passively accept this outcome,” Mayor Shawn Potillo and councilmembers, all Republicans, wrote in a statement issued to news outlets Friday. “The Township Council and our legal team have been preparing to pursue all available legal remedies. We are ready to challenge this matter in court and will act swiftly and aggressively to stop the development of a detention center in Roxbury Township.
“We must reiterate in the strongest possible terms that this property is not an appropriate location for a facility of this nature in a suburban community and is an unapproved use. Its placement within a residential area, combined with significant limitations in water and sewer infrastructure, should have been immediate and disqualifying considerations.”
Dallas-based Dalfen Industrial acquired the building, known then as Roxbury Logistics Center, in late 2023 as part of its fast-growing portfolio in the state. The firm noted that the warehouse was completed just a year earlier, boasting coveted features such as 40-foot clear ceiling heights, 48 docks and abundant parking for both cars and trailers in a location less than a half-mile from Interstate 80.
Still, the submarket and many others in New Jersey have grappled with an oversupply of newly built, speculative industrial space at a time in which demand had moderated from its post-pandemic highs. That likely contributed to the Roxbury property becoming a potential ICE facility as the agency moved to grow its network of detention centers.
On Friday, DHS representatives said the Route 46 site will be part of a group of “very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards.” The agency, in a statement to media outlets, added that the center and its construction are expected to bring 1,300 jobs to the area and would contribute $161.2 million to gross domestic product, while generating a projected $39.2 million in tax revenue.
“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the agency wrote in the statement. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space. Sites will undergo community impact studies and a rigorous due diligence process to make sure there is no hardship on local utilities or infrastructure prior to purchase.”
While the scale of Roxbury’s legal challenge is to be determined, Democratic state and federal lawmakers lined up late last week to blast the transaction.
“ICE reportedly closed a deal worth tens of millions of dollars to warehouse human beings in Roxbury, New Jersey,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker wrote on X on Friday evening. “It betrays everything this community stands for and then hands them the bill. I’ve toured the site. I’ve met with local leaders and residents. And the opposition is unanimous — this is wrong morally, fiscally, and for the safety of this community. ICE has ignored every concern. The agency also ignored multiple requests from my office to coordinate a meeting for township leaders to express these concerns. This agency doesn’t just lack oversight, it lacks conscience. The Roxbury community is united on this, it is resolute, and it has said NO to this ICE facility. We will not stop until this fight is won.”
Dalfen Industrial buys newly built, 470,000 sq. ft. warehouse in western Morris County
