State law enforcement officials in New Jersey have launched a formal review into allegations that federal immigration authorities breached a binding court-brokered agreement by detaining an immigrant at a controversial warehouse property in Morris County. The investigation centers on whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun utilizing the site despite ongoing legal commitments that prohibit its operation as a holding center pending environmental evaluations.
The New Jersey State Attorney General's Office confirmed on Monday that it is actively examining reports concerning unauthorized activity at the Roxbury Township site. A spokesperson for state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport emphasized that any effort by the federal agency to transform the property into a functioning detention facility represents a clear breach of existing judicial stipulations, pledging that the state will take appropriate legal action to enforce compliance.
The inquiry was initiated after legal counsel representing the advocacy coalition No ICE in Northern Jersey Alliance, commonly referred to as NINJA, delivered a formal letter of notification to Davenport. The correspondence detailed an incident that allegedly occurred on Sept. 4, during which federal agents temporarily held at least one individual at the warehouse following a targeted enforcement sweep in the neighboring municipality of Dover.
According to the advocacy organization, the detained man was brought directly to the secluded facility situated along Route 46 in Roxbury's Ledgewood section before being moved to the Elizabeth Contract Detention Center located in Union County. The alliance's attorney, David Broderick, asserted in the notification that federal authorities are effectively utilizing the facility as an illicit transfer hub to streamline their enforcement operations throughout the northern region of the state.
The advocacy group presented documentation indicating that the transport vehicle carrying the detainee arrived at the Ledgewood property during the precise window of time the man was permitted to place a phone call to a family member. During the call, the individual informed his relative that he was being confined inside a prison or jail environment.
Dover Town Council Member Sandra Wittner corroborated key aspects of the account, noting that she communicated directly with the detainee's adult daughter. Wittner recounted that the father placed a call to his daughter at 8:52 a.m. on the morning of his arrest, expressing distress over his confinement. The council member stated that the man was among as many as seven individuals seized during an early morning operation conducted by immigration officers across public sidewalks and parks in Dover.
The swiftness of subsequent federal actions was further highlighted by Wittner, who noted that another immigrant arrested during the same municipal sweep was deported back to his home country of Ecuador within just one week of the initial apprehension.
The presence of federal transport vehicles at the facility was also corroborated by community witnesses. Kathleen Salgado, a volunteer with the alliance who resides in Andover and works near the Ledgewood facility, reported observing footage of the Dover enforcement action on social media before her morning commute. While traveling along Route 46, Salgado spotted a dark gray sport utility vehicle matching the vehicle from the raid footage, captured brief video documentation at a traffic stop, and subsequently observed the vehicle turning directly into the warehouse access road.
Efforts to inspect the site or obtain official clarity have been met with resistance on the ground. When a reporter attempted to observe the warehouse from the driveway entrance off Route 46, a private security guard alongside a uniformed ICE officer prohibited any closer approach to the building, which remains obscured from public view along the main roadway. The federal agency did not issue a response to requests for comment regarding the alleged breach.
The site has remained at the center of intense legal wrangling since May 12, when ICE and the federal Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump consented to an agreement prohibiting the housing of any detainees at the expansive 470,033-square-foot warehouse. That freeze was instituted to allow for the mandatory execution of an environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act, a federal statute enacted in 1970 under President Richard Nixon.
That legal arrangement arose from a broader federal lawsuit initiated on March 20 by the State of New Jersey and Roxbury Township. The plaintiffs accused federal authorities of disregarding environmental review mandates as well as violating the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act, a federal measure enacted in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson to ensure coordinated regional development.
The binding pact was formally entered into by Attorney General Davenport and Roxbury Township municipal attorney James Bryce on behalf of local and state interests, while Deputy U.S. Attorney General Krysal-Rose Perez signed on behalf of ICE and federal authorities.
ICE acquired the vacant industrial facility over the winter for an estimated $129 million, intending to convert the sprawling property into its third primary detention center in New Jersey. If operational, it would join Delaney Hall in Newark and the privately managed detention facility in Elizabeth.
The federal initiative to house as many as 1,500 continuous detainees inside the warehouse has triggered intense opposition across northern New Jersey. Community members, environmental organizations, and civic leaders have warned that the rural location lacks appropriate municipal infrastructure, noting that the building's current water and wastewater capabilities were designed solely to support a standard commercial workforce of a few dozen employees.
Roxbury Mayor Sean Potillo stated that local administrators have remained vigilant in tracking developments at the Ledgewood parcel, though active court proceedings prevent him from addressing the specific allegations brought forward by the advocacy alliance. Potillo affirmed that township leadership will continue leveraging all available administrative and legal mechanisms to safeguard local infrastructure, land resources, and community safety.
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