The New Jersey State Attorney General's Office has launched a formal review into allegations that federal immigration authorities utilized a vacant Roxbury warehouse to hold detainees, a move that would represent a direct violation of a court-brokered agreement prohibiting the property’s operation as a detention facility pending an environmental review.
State officials initiated the inquiry following reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted operations at the Morris County site. A spokesperson for state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport confirmed on Monday that the office is closely examining the claims, emphasizing that any effort by the federal agency to transform the commercial site into a holding center would breach an active court order and trigger immediate state intervention.
The investigation was prompted by a formal letter delivered to Davenport’s office by the advocacy coalition No ICE in Northern Jersey Alliance (NINJA). The alliance asserted that the facility was actively used on September 4 to temporarily confine at least one person who had been apprehended during a series of immigration arrests in the neighboring municipality of Dover.
According to the group’s legal counsel, David Broderick, the detained individual was brought directly to the warehouse property situated off Route 46 in Roxbury's Ledgewood community. The alliance indicated that the individual was briefly kept on the premises before being transferred to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Center located in Union County.
In his correspondence to the attorney general, Broderick argued that federal authorities are operating the Roxbury location as an unauthorized staging ground. The attorney noted that ICE appears to be employing the warehouse as a de facto detention and transfer outpost to support enforcement sweeps across the northern region of the state.
Community members and advocacy volunteers have documented vehicle movements connecting the Dover arrests directly to the Roxbury compound. Kathleen Salgado, a volunteer residing in Andover and working in Dover, reported seeing digital footage of the morning arrests before spotting a matching dark gray sport utility vehicle while driving along Route 46. Salgado briefly recorded the vehicle at an intersection and subsequently observed it turning into the warehouse driveway.
Local officials have corroborated elements of the September 4 enforcement action. Dover Town Council Member Sandra Wittner stated that federal agents apprehended as many as seven individuals across Dover during a Friday morning sweep that targeted public parks and sidewalks.
Wittner confirmed that she communicated directly with the adult daughter of the man who was subsequently transported to the Ledgewood property. According to the council member, the detainee managed to contact his daughter by phone at 8:52 a.m., telling his family that he was being confined inside a jail or prison environment. Wittner also noted that another man arrested during the same morning operation had already been deported to his home country of Ecuador within a week of the raid.
The reported use of the site stands in sharp contrast to a formal legal agreement reached on May 12 between federal officials, the State of New Jersey, and local leaders. Under that accord, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security agreed not to house detainees inside the 470,033-square-foot structure until completing a mandatory environmental review mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970.
The May settlement stemmed from a federal lawsuit initiated on March 20 by the state and Roxbury Township. The complaint asserted that federal authorities bypassed vital regulatory requirements under the 1970 environmental statute signed by President Richard Nixon, as well as the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968 signed by President Lyndon Johnson. The agreement was formally authorized by Davenport and township attorney James Bryce on behalf of the plaintiffs, alongside Deputy U.S. Attorney General Krysal-Rose Perez representing ICE.
Federal authorities completed a $129 million purchase of the unoccupied warehouse over the winter under the administration of President Donald Trump. The acquisition was intended to establish a third major regional detention hub in New Jersey to complement existing facilities at Delaney Hall in Newark and the privately managed facility in Elizabeth.
The prospect of converting the commercial real estate into a 24-hour holding facility designed for up to 1,500 detainees has triggered sustained opposition from municipal leaders, state officials, environmental groups, and immigrant advocates. Opponents have repeatedly emphasized that the warehouse’s water and sewage infrastructure was built to accommodate only several dozen daytime employees, raising serious logistical and ecological concerns in a rural, environmentally sensitive setting.
Roxbury municipal leadership affirmed that the town remains vigilant regarding the facility's day-to-day operations. Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo stated that municipal authorities are closely monitoring developments, explaining that while ongoing litigation prevents him from speaking to the specific claims raised by NINJA, the township will investigate credible reports and utilize all available legal and political channels to safeguard local resources and residents.
Access to the facility remains heavily restricted. On Monday, a private security guard alongside a uniformed ICE officer stationed at the entrance driveway off Route 46 barred reporters from approaching the secluded warehouse structure. Federal immigration officials did not issue a public response to requests for comment regarding the state inquiry or the alliance's allegations.
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