By Isabella McHugh
Staff Writer
The United States federal government purchased a $129.3 million warehouse off Route 46 in Roxbury, New Jersey, in mid-February with plans to convert it into an immigration detention facility, according to NJ.com.
“I just find it… incredibly not American for a larger government to kind of overrun a smaller government,” Township Manager of Roxbury John “J.J.” Murphy said.
Murphy, along with the rest of Roxbury’s officials, are in unanimous opposition to the facility.
Protests broke out as members of the Roxbury community came together to push back against the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to move forward with the plan.
Hunter Chung, a Roxbury resident and teacher’s assistant at the American Christian School, said he has received most of his information about the situation through various New Jersey news outlets.
“My biggest concern is more so that it's going to fracture that kind of communal camaraderie aspect that Roxbury as a town has,” he said.
That concern began to show up in his day-to-day work. Chung recalled a moment when one of his students asked what an illegal immigrant was and what Immigration and Customs Enforcement is doing. He said he didn’t know how to respond, since those are not topics they are supposed to address in school.
Chung said he has heard a range of perspectives on the issue. From what he has observed, many middle-class residents oppose the facility, while some support appears to come from wealthier areas of Morris County.
“I was speaking to a gentleman who goes to — who's from Mendham. And he and a good amount of his colleagues agreed to having the facility put in,” Chung said.
Murphy said opposition to the facility has drawn support from both Democrats and Republicans across the township. He attributed that consensus to a “lack of information” surrounding the project, as well as a shared belief that Roxbury is “just not the right location for such a facility.”
Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that the state of New Jersey, alongside Roxbury Township, is suing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, according to the New Jersey Monitor.
She called the proposal an “illegal plan” in an interview with NBC New York, citing how it bypassed local officials and could strain the township’s water and sewage systems.
Murphy echoed those concerns, noting that the facility would place additional pressure on Roxbury’s water and sewage capacity. He also pointed to traffic as a major safety issue, especially given the proposed location.
“There have been four fatal traffic accidents out in front of that warehouse area on 46,” Murphy said.
The site sits just beyond a small, unmarked roadway off Route 46, near a gas station that has been the scene of fatal accidents. From the highway, the warehouse is barely visible above the tree line — easy to miss, but now at the center of a growing controversy.
Murphy said the warehouse sat vacant for the past two years. Before the federal government purchased it, the township tried to offer incentives to the owner to use it “for what that facility was designed for.”
The debate surrounding the proposed detention center has also reached college campuses in the state. At the College, members of ECUA, the Ecuadorian Student Association, said the issue directly affects how many students think about immigration policy and community safety.
The Signal spoke with executive board members of ECUA to gather student perspectives on the proposed facility.
“I think it's disgusting,” Leonardo Naranjo said. The sophomore music education major and ECUA’s vice president described immigration detention facilities as “cruel” and “inhumane.”
Jazmin Valdez-Cruz, a sophomore psychology major and president of ECUA, said the organization has spent much of the semester focusing on issues surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She added that she personally knows people affected by current immigration enforcement policies.
Valdez-Cruz described ECUA as a family that prioritizes keeping its members and their loved ones safe. As part of that effort, ECUA makes sure students understand their rights in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounter.
Raul Alvarez, a freshman computer engineering major and ECUA’s secretary, said a detention center in Roxbury would have ripple effects across the state. Someone from another part of New Jersey, he said, could be transported to a facility like the one proposed in Roxbury.
“You see families waiting outside the detention centers for answers,” he said. “And that is what will continue to happen,” he added, his tone subdued.
He described how communities can be quietly torn apart — sometimes as simply as a friend no longer showing up at school or church because they were taken.
Naranjo said support for detention facilities can create deep divisions, particularly in a college environment. Alvarez agreed, adding that he has had to distance himself from people who believe such facilities are acceptable.
Chung believes the presence of an immigration detention facility in Roxbury will bring significant tension to the town. He said it will likely spark backlash and intensify existing stigma surrounding Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Murphy said the issue has dominated council meetings since January, underscoring how central it has become to the community. He emphasized that township officials are listening closely to residents’ concerns.
Valdez-Cruz said policymakers need to “stand for the people,” arguing that representation “shouldn't just be for the wealthy, the elite. It should be for everyone in New Jersey.”
