A group of protesters, including elected officials, gathered outside an empty warehouse in Newburgh, New York, on Tuesday amid concerns the facility could become a future Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
Among the speakers was Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), who argued that the prospect of a large immigration detention facility evoked some of history’s darkest chapters and suggested Orange County had been unfairly singled out.
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“Now twice here in our own backyard,” Ryan said, “the very people elected by the American people have turned their backs on that declaration, on our Constitution, on our Bill of Rights, on our patriotic values as Americans that we care for everyone. And when we say liberty and justice for all, it means actually all.”
The reaction follows reports over the past week that the empty warehouse connected to a General Services Administration lease could be considered as a future ICE detention site, although the federal government has not announced any plans for the property.
Following the rally, Ryan reiterated his opposition on X, writing: “No ICE in Newburgh. No ICE in Chester. No ICE ANYWHERE in the Hudson Valley. 400+ neighbors. Rallying together with one voice, one message.”
Ryan has faced close elections during his time in politics, winning his last election in 2022 with 50.6% of the vote to his opponent’s 49.3%.
The day before the protest, Republican congressional nominee Jackie Auringer also opposed the possible Newburgh facility, though she placed the blame on New York’s Democratic leadership. Auringer and Ryan will face off in November for a seat representing New York’s 18th Congressional District.
“Albany Democrats did not make immigration enforcement more humane, they made it more chaotic,” Auringer said. “They passed laws that defy federal immigration law and block cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, which does nothing to reduce the need to process illegal immigrants. It only pushes Washington toward more costly options, away from existing local capacity, and into a system that makes life harder for those being detained.”
The demonstration comes as border czar Tom Homan has vowed to expand ICE operations in New York dramatically.
“I made [Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY)] a promise. ‘You’re going to see more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen in New York City, and it’s coming,’” Homan said during an appearance on Fox & Friends last month. “I’m keeping my promise. We’re going to send more ICE agents to New York because you took away the efficiencies of safe arrests in county jails.”
Homan said the ICE surge would primarily target New York City’s five boroughs, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, rather than upstate New York or Long Island.
Protest organizers highlighted their previous campaign opposing a proposed ICE detention center in Chester, a plan that was ultimately scrapped.
The warehouse, located at 800 Corporate Blvd. in the Town of Newburgh near Stewart International Airport, is a 60,143-square-foot, single-story building situated on 9.5 acres.
The demonstration also comes during heightened tensions surrounding ICE detention facilities elsewhere. In June, police arrested at least 30 people during protests outside Delaney Hall in New Jersey on charges including assaulting law enforcement officers and other felony offenses. The demonstrations began after House Democrats attempted to inspect the facility over Memorial Day weekend.
