Oct 8, 2026 · 11 min
Warehouses become a new front in immigration detention
ICE has quietly been using warehouses as detention centers
The investigation examines whether ICE is using warehouses to detain immigrants while avoiding detention-center rules and environmental oversight.
- 1The administration purchased 11 warehouses as part of an effort to expand immigrant detention capacity.
- 2Residents and witnesses describe surveillance, detentions, and fear around an ICE-linked warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey.
- 3Legal experts and state officials are investigating whether the facility exploits a distinction between detention sites and formal detention centers.
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Residents describe watching ICE activity near the Roxbury warehouse while families searched for detained day laborers.
The brief
NPR examines the Trump administration’s plan to use warehouses for immigrant detention, including 11 purchased facilities and the legal and political backlash.
At a New Jersey warehouse, a contractor says officials wanted facilities designed to be deliberately harsh; the White House denies the allegation.
Residents near the Roxbury site describe surveillance, ICE vehicles, and day laborers being detained as families struggled to learn where workers had gone.
Former Justice Department attorney Andrew C. Mergen says ICE may be exploiting a legal distinction by detaining people without formally converting the warehouse into a detention center.
New Jersey officials are investigating while residents challenge the facility’s use, raising questions about oversight, environmental review, and accountability.