DHS Confirms ICE Processed 14 Detainees in Roxbury, NJ Warehouse Parking Lot; Rep. Mejia Cites Court Order

In a statement Tuesday forwarded to NPR by the office of Rep. Analilia Mejia, D-N.J., a Department of Homeland Security official confirmed that ICE officers used the parking lot of a Roxbury Township warehouse to initially process 14 detainees in September. DHS told Mejia that it used the site to protect the safety of its officers, and that no detained immigrants were brought inside the facility itself.

NPR reports that the government is legally forbidden by a court order from converting the warehouse to a detention facility, pending environmental assessments. Mejia said ICE used the property to process and stage detainees, “potentially in violation of a court order restricting its use as an immigration detention facility”. Andrew Mergen told NPR the administration has “cleverly elided that intention, by sort of saying, ‘Well, we’re not going to build this facility, but we’re going to use this space in furtherance of detention.’”

The confirmation follows NPR’s earlier report, in which DHS did not respond when asked whether it held people there: 2026-10-08–npr-neighbors-say-ice-used-roxbury-nj-warehouse-for-detention-despite-court-order-dhs-no-answer. Earlier steps: 2026-09-15–nj-ag-reviewing-claims-ice-used-roxbury-warehouse-against-may-court-order and 2026-06-29–dhs-abandons-roxbury-nj-warehouse-ice-detention-after-lawsuit.