New Jersey law enforcement authorities are investigating allegations that federal immigration officials breached a binding legal agreement by utilizing a newly acquired Morris County warehouse to process and hold detainees following a regional enforcement sweep.
The New Jersey State Attorney General's Office confirmed that it is actively examining reports concerning unapproved activities at the facility in Roxbury Township. Representatives for state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport cautioned that any operational use of the property as a holding center directly violates an active court-brokered order, warning that the state is prepared to take formal measures to address non-compliance.
The state inquiry began after the No ICE in Northern Jersey Alliance, an advocacy coalition known as NINJA, sent a formal notification to Davenport. David Broderick, an attorney representing the alliance, asserted that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun utilizing the Ledgewood warehouse as an unauthorized staging and processing site to facilitate arrests across the northern part of the state.
According to the coalition, federal agents transported at least one individual to the warehouse off Route 46 following a sweep conducted in neighboring Dover on September 4. The man was reportedly held temporarily inside the facility before authorities moved him to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Center, a privately operated federal holding site located in Union County.
The reported holding directly challenges a settlement reached on May 12 between state authorities, municipal leaders, and the federal government under President Donald Trump's administration. Under that agreement, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security committed to refraining from housing detainees inside the 470,0330-square-foot building while an environmental review remains underway.
That legal pact emerged from a lawsuit initiated on March 20 by New Jersey and Roxbury Township. The joint complaint alleged that federal officials bypassed requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, signed by President Richard Nixon, as well as the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act of 1968, signed by President Lyndon Johnson. The formal agreement was signed by Davenport, Roxbury municipal attorney James Bryce, and Deputy U.S. Attorney General Krysal-Rose Perez on behalf of ICE.
Federal authorities originally acquired the vacant commercial warehouse over the winter for $129 million. The agency planned to establish its third major detention hub in New Jersey, augmenting existing operations at the Elizabeth facility and Delaney Hall in Newark.
Under federal plans, the site was envisioned to hold up to 1,500 detainees continuously. However, the proposal triggered intense pushback from local residents, municipal leaders, environmental groups, and civil rights advocates, who pointed out that the rural property's water and sewer infrastructure was built to support only a few dozen commercial workers.
Roxbury Mayor Sean Potillo stated that the township continues to track developments at the site closely while navigating the ongoing court case. Potillo noted that municipal leaders intend to evaluate all credible reports and leverage every available legal and political mechanism to safeguard township resources, property, and residents.
NINJA's letter outlined supporting evidence indicating that a transport vehicle was present at the Roxbury warehouse at the precise moment a detainee placed a phone call to a family member. During the call, the individual informed his relative that he was being held inside a prison or jail environment.
Dover Town Council Member Sandra Wittner confirmed that she communicated directly with the detained individual's adult daughter following the September 4 operation, during which up to seven men were apprehended along sidewalks and in public parks. Wittner stated that the father telephoned his daughter at 8:52 a.m. to report his confinement, noting also that another person apprehended during the same morning operation was deported to Ecuador within a week.
Additional eyewitness evidence came from Kathleen Salgado, an alliance volunteer residing in Andover who works near the warehouse. After viewing social media footage of the Dover arrests prior to her morning commute, Salgado spotted a matching dark gray SUV at a traffic light on Route 46, briefly recorded video of the vehicle, and followed it as it pulled into the warehouse access road.
At present, access to the Ledgewood property remains tightly restricted. The warehouse itself is obscured from Route 46, with private security guards and a uniformed ICE officer stationed at the driveway entrance to turn away visitors. ICE representatives did not respond to inquiries regarding the allegations or the ongoing status of the facility.
As the state Attorney General's Office evaluates the documentation submitted by advocates and local officials, the outcome of the inquiry could determine whether the state seeks immediate judicial intervention to enforce the terms of the federal settlement.
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