Photo: MANDEL NGAN / AFP / Getty Images
A planned meeting to provide local officials with information about a controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Berks County, Pennsylvania, will likely be delayed due to the ongoing partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach told Spotlight PA on Tuesday that he had spoken with U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Pa.) and a DHS representative on February 13 about scheduling a meeting for local elected officials to discuss the federal government's plans for a recently purchased warehouse in Upper Bern Township.
The meeting was tentatively planned for Wednesday (February 18), but Leinbach confirmed Tuesday evening that no meeting would take place on that date. The commissioner said Rep. Meuser would continue working with DHS to reschedule the meeting for another day.
"This is a normal process, not just with ICE, anyone," Leinbach explained about the planned private meeting with officials. "You want to be able to ask very detailed questions... maybe be harsher than you might be in public, maybe be less formal than you would be in public."
The meeting would have included county commissioners, Upper Bern Township supervisors, and officials from Schuylkill County, where DHS has also planned a detention center. Leinbach expressed hope that federal representatives would hold a public meeting for residents after the private conversation with elected officials.
The partial government shutdown, which began last week, has affected all departments under DHS, including ICE. According to the Associated Press, the shutdown does not appear likely to end quickly as federal lawmakers continue to demand answers about ICE's immigration enforcement operations.
The warehouse in question, located at 3501 Mountain Road, was recently purchased by the federal government to serve as an ICE processing facility. Local officials have been seeking more information about the planned use of the facility since news of the purchase became public.
Leinbach said he would inform residents of what he learns from the eventual meeting, provided he isn't prevented from doing so for security reasons.