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More than 150 people gathered in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on Sunday (March 22) to protest a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Upper Bern Township — a small community of fewer than 2,000 residents that could see its population nearly double if the facility opens.
Protesters met at the Shartlesville Fire Company to voice concerns about the facility's potential impact on local water, sewage, and emergency services. Speakers warned that the center is expected to house up to 1,500 people, which would put enormous strain on the township's already limited infrastructure.
ICE purchased the Upper Bern Township warehouse for $87.4 million in January 2026. According to NBC10, the federal agency has not responded to multiple requests for comment about its plans for the building.
ICE said in a statement that its planned facilities "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." The agency also said it expects the facilities to create 11,000 jobs and bring in more than $283.4 million in tax revenue, though it is unclear how those figures were calculated.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has made his position clear. "I wanna be very clear, I don't want either of these sites in the commonwealth," Shapiro said at a recent press conference. As reported by WESA, Shapiro hosted a bipartisan meeting of local officials at the Berks County Agricultural Center and said he is exploring regulatory options through the state's departments of environmental protection, health, and labor and industry to block both facilities.
"I've taken this president to court 19 times [as governor], not lost a single case," Shapiro said. "Part of the reason why we're so successful is we don't forecast all of it ahead of time."
Shapiro has also warned of serious water supply problems. He said that in Tremont Township in Schuylkill County — where a separate ICE facility with 7,500 beds is planned — the local water supply would run dry within 24 hours of the facility opening. "That means that they literally won't be able to turn on the water in their kitchen and fill up a pot of water. They won't be able to flush the toilet," Shapiro said.
Residents in Upper Bern Township have expressed a mix of concern and frustration. Spotlight PA spoke to several residents, including Debra Fisher, who serves on the township's zoning board. "It is a bipartisan issue," Fisher said. "It doesn't matter your affiliation. If you live here, you're going to have to deal with it."
Ted Perezous, owner of the Blue Mountain Family Restaurant, said he feels "overwhelming apprehension." "Who wants, even if it was done in plain view and transparency, who wants a detention center in their backyard?" he said. "Nobody does, even if it's just a normal prison."
Cindy Rightmyer, a precinct committee chair with the Berks County Democratic Committee, said the opposition spans party lines. "Some people are strictly infrastructure," she said. "For other people, it was moral." Rightmyer added that she is encouraging residents to contact local representatives and attend township meetings to make their voices heard.
Two of the three Berks County commissioners — Republicans Christian Leinbach and Michael Rivera — have stopped short of condemning the facility, saying they need more information. The third commissioner, Democrat Dante Santoni, has vocally opposed the center, saying it would harm the community's finances and morale.
Other states have seen recent success in pushing back against similar facilities. Maryland's attorney general filed a lawsuit to block a detention center in Washington County, citing violations of the National Environmental Policy Act. In New Hampshire, the federal government dropped plans for an ICE facility in Merrimack after Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte met with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in Washington, D.C.
Shapiro said his administration plans to announce specific regulatory steps in the coming weeks. Whether local permitting authorities or state regulators can ultimately block the facility remains an open question, as the federal government is the property owner.