ICE buys $87M warehouse in Berks County as it plots expansion of immigration detention centers across the U.S.

ICE斥资8700万美元买下伯克斯县一个仓库,计划在全美范围内扩建移民拘留中心


(A warehouse in Upper Bern Township, Berks County, PA, was purchased by ICE and the Trump administration.)

(ICE和特朗普政府购买了宾夕法尼亚州伯克斯县上伯尔尼镇的一个仓库。)

新闻:
The Trump administration has quietly purchased a nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Berks County as it plans to convert such facilities into immigration detention centers across the U.S.

特朗普政府悄然在伯克斯县购买了一个近52万平方英尺的仓库,计划将这些设施改造成美国各地的移民拘留中心

The warehouse, located at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township, was sold to the U.S. government on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for $87.4 million, deed records show. The purchase was recorded on Feb. 2.

契约记录显示,该仓库位于上伯尔尼镇山路3501号,以8740万美元的价格卖给了美国政府(代表国土安全部与ICE)。购买记录时间为2月2日。

Spotlight PA visited the warehouse, which is located about a mile from I-78, on Jan. 15 and witnessed about two dozen individuals touring the exterior of the building. One man who arrived early to the site that day identified himself to a reporter as ICE.

1月15日,《宾夕法尼亚焦点》访问了距离I-78号州际公路约1英里的仓库,并目睹了大约24个人参观大楼外部。当天提早到达现场的一名男子向记者表示自己是ICE。

The property was most recently called the Hamburg Logistics Center, and before that was the site of the Mountain Springs Arena, a county landmark known for rodeos and demolition derbies. It neighbors an Amazon warehouse and the Mountain Springs Camping Resort.

这处房产最近的名字是汉堡物流中心,在此之前是山泉竞技场的所在地,这是一个以牛仔竞技和撞车大赛而闻名的县地标。它毗邻亚马逊仓库和山泉露营度假村。

The building is one of at least 23 that ICE plans to convert into an immigration detention facility, Bloomberg reports. The Berks County warehouse could house up to 1,500 beds.

据彭博社报道,该建筑是ICE计划改造为移民拘留设施的至少23座建筑之一。伯克斯县的仓库最多可以容纳1500张床。

ICE also finalized the purchase of a warehouse in nearby Tremont Township, in Schuylkill County, on Monday, according to a deed. The Tremont property is located less than 300 yards from a daycare center and has already faced fierce resident opposition.

一份契据显示,周一,ICE还敲定了对斯库尔基尔县附近特里蒙特镇一处仓库的收购。特雷蒙特的这处房产距离一家日托中心不到300码,已经遭到了当地居民的强烈反对。

A spokesperson for ICE did not answer any questions about the Berks County warehouse purchase and instead lauded the agency’s targeting of “vicious criminals.”

ICE的一位发言人没有回答有关伯克斯县仓库购买的任何问题,而是称赞该机构瞄准了“邪恶的罪犯”。

“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities,” the spokesperson said.

这位发言人称:“多亏了《大而美法案》,ICE有了新的资金来扩大拘留空间,让这些罪犯在永远离开我们的社区之前远离美国街头。”

Upper Bern Township’s solicitor said in an emailed statement that community leaders learned about the sale on Monday. They declined to answer questions.

上伯尔尼镇的律师在一份电子邮件声明中说,社区领导人在周一得知了这笔交易。他们拒绝回答问题。

“The township was not involved in this transfer and has not received any applications from either the prior or new owners regarding the future use of the property,” the statement reads. “The township has no further comment on this matter at this time.”

声明中写道:“本镇没有参与此次转让,也没有收到任何来自前任或新业主关于该物业未来使用的申请。本镇目前对此事没有进一步的评论。”

State Sen. Chris Gebhard and Rep. Jamie Barton, Republicans who represent the area, said they have reached out to federal contacts to gather more information on how the Department of Homeland Security plans to use the warehouse.

代表该地区的共和党参议员克里斯·格哈特和众议员杰米·巴顿称,他们已经联系了联邦政府的联系人,以收集更多有关国土安全部计划如何使用该仓库的信息。

“Our immediate concerns include the potential loss of property tax revenue for the host municipality, county, and school district, as well as security and perimeter considerations,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “We look forward to engaging directly with the appropriate federal officials to address these issues. Once additional information is available, we will provide an upxe.”

议员们在一份联合声明中表示:“我们目前的担忧包括,对主办城市、县和学区可能造成的财产税收入损失,以及安全和周边问题的考虑。我们期待与相关联邦官员直接接触,解决这些问题。一旦获得更多信息,我们将提供最新信息。”

The property is assessed at $22 million and currently pays $199,620 annually in county property taxes under the current tax rate of 9.013 mils. The loss of tax revenue from the federal government’s purchase would be about $597,110 for the Hamburg Area School District, and $31,229 for Upper Bern Township.

该房产的估价为2200万美元,目前每年支付199620美元的县财产税,现行税率为9.013‰。联邦政府此次购买,将导致汉堡地区学区和上伯尔尼镇税收分别损失597110美元和31229美元。

State Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks) declined to comment on the warehouse purchase on Monday. In an earlier interview with Spotlight PA, she called the then-potential sale “deeply concerning,” especially given the reports of mistreatment of people detained in ICE facilities. She released a statement about “ICE’s action in Minneapolis” on Jan. 27, shortly after federal agents killed Alex Pretti.

纽约州民主党参议员施万克周一拒绝就购买仓库一事置评。在早些时候接受《宾夕法尼亚焦点》采访时,她称当时可能的出售“令人深感担忧”,特别是考虑到有关ICE设施中被拘留者受到虐待的报道。在联邦特工杀死亚历克斯·普雷蒂后不久,她于1月27日发表了一份关于“ICE在明尼阿波利斯行动”的声明。

“My concern is, knowing the track record of some of these other facilities located throughout the country, it's not good,” she said. “I don't necessarily want to see something like that being housed in our county.”

她称:“我担心的是,从全国其他一些设施的记录来看,情况并不好。我不希望看到这样的东西出现在我们县。”

The deed finalized on Monday shows the property was sold to ICE by an LLC connected to PCCP, a national commercial real estate equity firm. The firm purchased the warehouse in 2024 for $57.5 million, deed records show.

周一敲定的契约显示,这处房产是由一家与PCCP有关联的有限责任公司卖给ICE的。PCCP是一家全国性的商业房地产股权公司。契约记录显示,该公司于2024年以5750万美元的价格购买了该仓库。

Reached by phone Monday afternoon, PCCP partner Greg Eberhardt — who is the authorized signatory for 3501 Mountain Road Owner LLC on the latest deed — denied knowledge of the property and its sale, and refused to comment further.

周一下午通过电话联系到PCCP合伙人格雷格·埃伯哈特,他是3501山路所有者有限责任公司最新契据的授权签署人,他否认对该房产及其出售知情,并拒绝进一步置评。

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Eberhardt said before hanging up on a Spotlight PA reporter. “I’m not making company comments.”

“我不知道你在说什么,”埃伯哈特在挂断《宾夕法尼亚焦点》记者的电话之前说。“我不是在对公司发表评论。”

Upper Bern Township is situated on the edge of Berks and Schuylkill Counties, with a population of roughly 1,600 people. The community is mostly white, with only 2.8% of residents identifying as another race, according to the 2020 census.

上伯尔尼镇位于伯克斯县和斯库尔基尔县的边缘,人口约1600人。根据2020年的人口普查,这个社区主要是白人,只有2.8%的居民认为自己是另一个种族。

Bridget Cambria, attorney with Aldea, a nonprofit that provides pro bono immigration legal services, said the detention center will have a “disruptive” and “chilling” impact on Berks County’s immigrant community.

提供无偿移民法律服务的非营利组织Aldea的律师布里奇特·坎布里亚称,拘留中心将对伯克斯县的移民社区产生“破坏性”和“寒蝉效应”。

“If there are people that live freely and at peace knowing that they do the right thing, they can do their immigration process or stay with their family or figure out a way to legalize their status, they're going to be more afraid to do that with a giant detention center in their backyard,” Cambria said.

坎布里亚说:“如果有些人自由和平地生活,知道他们做了正确的事情,他们可以办理移民手续,或者和家人在一起,或者找到一种使他们的身份合法化的方法,他们就会更害怕在他们的后院有一个巨大的拘留中心。”

A 2022 study by the Detention Watch Center and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center found that immigrants were more likely to be arrested by ICE in counties with more detention bed-space.

拘留观察中心和移民法律资源中心在2022年进行的一项研究发现,在拘留床位较多的县,移民更有可能被ICE逮捕。