Trump administration buys Berks County warehouse for potential use as ICE detention center
The Trump administration has previously eyed the facility in Upper Bern Township as a site for an immigration detention center.
Protesters gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices at 8th and Cherry streets in Philadelphia, Jan. 19, 2026, to call for an end to ICE raids. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have purchased a large warehouse in Berks County for $87.4 million, according to official deed records.
The 518,000-square-foot facility, located at 3501 Mountain Road in Upper Bern Township, sits more than 90 minutes from Center City, Philadelphia.
According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration identified this facility — among more than 20 potential locations nationwide — for use as immigrant detention centers. Officials believe the warehouse in Upper Bern Township could be converted to hold up to 1,500 beds.
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Scanlon, who represents Delco and parts of Philly and Montco, conducted congressional oversight of the facility after one of her constituents died in ICE custody.
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Listen 0:51On Jan. 15., Spotlight PA observed a group of individuals touring the exterior of the facility. The transaction between the federal government and the previous owner was recorded Monday by the Berks County Recorder of Deeds.
“The County of Berks was informed this morning by the Recorder of Deeds about the purchase of the warehouse,” a county spokesperson said in a statement. “The County had no prior knowledge of the sale and has no information on the future plans for the property. The County refers all other inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security.”
A spokesperson for DHS did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
The potential push for an immigrant detention facility comes just a few years following the closure of the Berks County Family Center, which had the capacity to house up to 96 people. That ICE detention center shuttered in 2023 after local advocates led a years-long campaign to close it.
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Scanlon, who represents Delco and parts of Philly and Montco, conducted congressional oversight of the facility after one of her constituents died in ICE custody.
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