ICE Reportedly Uses New Jersey Warehouse as Migrant Detention Site Despite Legal Injunction

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is operating an unauthorized detention site out of a Roxbury, New Jersey warehouse despite an active court order prohibiting its conversion into a facility, according to an investigation by NPR and local community reports. The warehouse is part of an expansive, billion-dollar Department of Homeland Security program initiated in early 2026 to acquire 11 industrial facilities across the nation for mass deportations. Signs of continuous activity, vehicle caravans, and migrant transfers have raised alarms among local officials and community advocates.

A government contractor involved in the initial facility conversions claimed that White House adviser Stephen Miller deliberately demanded austere detention environments. According to the contractor, DHS officials rejected more humane options, asserting that Miller specifically wanted facilities to be "cruel" and "painful." White House spokesperson Lauren Bis strongly rejected the allegations, calling them "false hearsay" and defamatory, while maintaining that Miller never sought adverse detention conditions for undocumented immigrants.

The broader warehouse conversion strategy quickly deteriorated into legal and administrative chaos following intense resistance from both liberal and conservative municipalities. Several state attorneys general launched lawsuits over severe environmental violations and potential contamination of local water tables, prompting judges to freeze operations pending environmental impact reviews. While the departure of former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem led to the listing of several properties for sale, the department retained key strategic assets in New Jersey, Maryland, and Arizona.

Community groups, including the Project NINJA coalition, continue to document suspicious vehicular movements in Roxbury following a surge in enforcement that saw roughly 100,000 migrant arrests nationwide over July and August. The New Jersey Attorney General's office confirmed it is reviewing allegations surrounding the site's ongoing operational status. Legal advocates caution that maintaining circumvented detention pipelines without basic regulatory and environmental oversight poses severe civil rights risks.