To the Editor:
As many of your readers know by now, there has been a proposal by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to purchase vacant industrial space and install a detention and processing facility in Chester. This endeavor is a small yet significant part of a nationwide expansion of immigration detention and enforcement.
The DHS is planning to acquire 401,000 square foot warehouse space at 29 Elizabeth Drive in the Village of Chester. The facility will be retrofitted and modernized to hold 500 and as many as 1500 people at a time. The village has been told that this site will be used as a short-term processing center where detainees will be held for intake on their way to larger long-term detention centers, many of which are the public and private prisons in New York State and in fact, while all 50 states currently run some form of detention centers, up to 16 new processing mega-facilities are planned nation-wide to support an overall goal of detaining up to 80,000 immigrants.
In January of 2026, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a public notice of its intent to “purchase, occupy, and rehabilitate” the Chester property. Proposed modifications include internal structural changes, a new guard building, an outdoor recreation area, and fence line modifications.
This proposal has met with intense bi-partisan opposition from local and state leaders. Among the concerns are inadequate sewage capacity and infrastructure strain. Local rallies and petition signatures have gathered twenty thousand signatures protesting the plans of the DHS, according to participation organizations. In short, The New York State Environmental Agency has noted that using this location proposes risks to the local wetlands and the municipal water supply. This part of town is located in a 100-year-old flood plain. Therefore, a specific environmental review was required by the state and is ongoing. The public comment period ended on Jan. 16, 2026, but I believe this topic will be in the forefront of many minds and hearts for months to come.
Mark G. Arnowitz
Warwick