MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Trump administration is moving ahead with its plans to convert warehouses into immigration detention centers. One of those sites is in the town of Roxbury, New Jersey, where a few nights ago, neighbors confronted local leadership.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We're not going away until that place is closed. Close...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Shut the gate.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: ...That facility now.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Every gate.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Close it.
MARTIN: The mayor of the town, Shawn Potillo, left the meeting amidst all the heckling. NPR's Jasmine Garsd was at that town meeting, and she's been reporting on the warehouses. And she's with us now to tell us more about it. Good morning, Jas.
JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So you reported this earlier this year - the plan to buy these warehouses and turn them into detention centers - right?
GARSD: Yeah. Earlier this year, Homeland Security purchased 11 warehouses to convert into ICE detention centers across the country. And that sparked outrage and protests in cities and towns, you know, from coast to coast - in Maryland, Arizona, in New Jersey. Lawsuits from state attorneys general led to DHS halting conversion of these warehouses, pending environmental impact assessments. And then a bunch of other warehouses are being sold. But just this week, the government signaled it's moving forward with two of the sites. It completed the environmental assessment in Arizona. And in Roxbury, New Jersey, a contract to convert the site was awarded despite a court order barring DHS from doing that.
MARTIN: So it sounds like this was in legal limbo for some months. Do we have any sense of - why revive it now?
GARSD: So I reached out to Homeland Security. They told me they can't respond due to ongoing litigation. But, you know, all this happened immediately after the midterms, in which New Jersey went from three Republican Congress members to one. And so, you know, I think the town of Roxbury represents the larger power struggle that's to come and this question Democrats will face when they take office next year, which is - how much can they really rein in ICE's power?
MARTIN: And you've been following immigration, reporting on immigration for some time now. What do you think this signals about how the Trump administration plans to carry on with its immigration crackdown?
GARSD: I mean, look. Within days of midterms, the administration started working on continuing this project of turning warehouses into ICE detention centers. I think it's an indication that there's no slowdown for immigration enforcement coming. In the meantime, in Roxbury, Homeland Security still has to present an environmental assessment. Once that happens, local activists and the attorney general could sue if they find it lacking. Neighbors in Roxbury have accused local governance of working to serve the interests of Homeland Security. Mayor Shawn Potillo told NPR that he is opposed to the project and that he will continue pursuing legal and political avenues to stop this from happening.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Jasmine Garsd. Jasmine, thank you.
GARSD: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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