CHESTER – Town of Chester Supervisor Brandon Holdridge, a staunch opponent of the proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Chester, has upped the pressure, asking residents to write opposition letters to the real estate and brokerage firms involved in the sale.
“A bunch of residents have already written letters to kill the deal,” said Holdridge, who listed who he believes are the firms involved in the sale on his Facebook page with email contacts. “If I were a real estate agent, I would ask yourself: Do you really want to be a part of this deal? Why? We won’t give up until ICE decides to give up on the project, or if they come, decide to leave.”
Holdridge believes that ICE still plans on purchasing the former Pep Boys warehouse, located at 29 Elizabeth Drive. Last week, the feds confirmed its plans to transform a Chester warehouse into a detention center. However, earlier this week, ICE admitted that last week it had falsely claimed that it purchased the warehouse.
“ICE has NOT purchased a facility in Chester, New York,” an ICE spokesperson said. “That statement was sent without proper approval and this mistake has since been rectified. “Regardless, every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”
The spokesperson would not comment on the proposed Chester site.
“Given the bipartisan opposition to the proposed ICE facility in Chester, I’m certainly relieved that the building has not been acquired by DHS,” Senator James Skoufis (D, Orange County) said. “I am nevertheless confused how the agency repeatedly confirmed its purchase to multiple news outlets only days ago. Up to this point, DHS has chosen not to engage with state and local elected officials — they should immediately start doing so.”
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