Residents in Roxbury and Dover, New Jersey, report that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been quietly utilizing a local warehouse as a detention site throughout the summer, despite a federal court order blocking the conversion of the facility for that purpose. The allegations emerged following a series of raids in early September that sent ripples of fear through the community and reignited scrutiny over the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) broader detention strategies.
The warehouse, located at 1879 Route 46, became a focal point of controversy when it was identified as part of a billion-dollar initiative launched in early 2026 to transform purchased warehouses into ICE detention centers. While the administration initially faced intense legal pushback from state attorneys general and local residents, resulting in court-ordered halts to construction pending environmental assessments in New Jersey, Maryland, and Arizona, insiders claim the government has found ways to circumvent these restrictions.
An NPR investigation spoke with a government contractor who stated that DHS officials were internally opposed to the warehouse plan due to harsh conditions. The contractor, speaking anonymously for fear of retaliation, claimed that during meetings with DHS leadership, White House advisor Stephen Miller was cited as insisting on facilities that were intentionally uncomfortable. “Steve Miller certainly seemed to make that point to everyone that he wanted it to be cruel,” the contractor alleged. However, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis dismissed these claims as “false hearsay” and defamatory, stating that Miller has never expressed such desires.
Michael Wriston, founder of the watchdog group Project SaltBox, described the warehouse conversion plan as an “absolute boondoggle” driven more by media optics than operational practicality. Following the departure of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in March, the agency shifted toward less conspicuous enforcement methods under Secretary Markwayne Mullin. While DHS has moved to sell several of the purchased warehouses, it retains control of key sites, including the Roxbury facility, which experts argue fills a strategic gap in areas lacking robust local jail partnerships.
Tensions escalated on the morning of September 4, when masked immigration agents conducted raids in nearby Dover. Social media footage showed agents detaining individuals, prompting residents to track the vehicles. One woman, who requested anonymity due to fears of government retaliation, reported following a transport vehicle up Route 46 and into the wooded road leading to the Roxbury warehouse. She described being harassed and filmed by agents in SUVs while standing on a public sidewalk.
Dover Councilmember Sandra Wittner noted the timing was suspicious, with arrests occurring between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and the last vehicle entering the warehouse road at 8:25 a.m. Wittner stated she strongly suspects the warehouse is being used for detentions given the proximity and speed of the transports.
Families of those detained have shared distressing accounts. One resident recognized her father in raid footage and received a call from him shortly after, during which he reported being handcuffed and disoriented in a jail-like setting. A friend of the family confirmed to NPR that he was taken to the Roxbury warehouse, where he and nine other men were held in handcuffs in a parking lot for several hours before deportation. He has since been returned to Honduras but requested anonymity to protect relatives still in the U.S.
New Jersey’s Attorney General has announced an investigation into these reports. As rumors continue to circulate among immigrant communities, the case highlights the ongoing legal and ethical complexities surrounding the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts and the use of repurposed commercial spaces for immigration enforcement.
Cynical of me, but I wonder if this boondoggle was always about testing enforcement limits rather than actual capacity.
The timeline from Councilmember Wittner makes sense. The vehicles literally drove straight into that warehouse after the raids.
My family in Dover is shaking. Neighbors are too scared to speak up. We need answers now.
If the court ordered a halt and they are ignoring it, that is a direct defiance of judicial authority. Where is the contempt charge?
This is terrifying. Alleging intentional cruelty as policy is deeply alarming, regardless of the administration’s denials.