CHESTER – Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY-18) and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer are demanding that the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigate what the lawmakers called “massive mismanagement and lack of transparency” during U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) alleged interest in a detention center in Chester.
The proposed site, the former Pep Boys warehouse in Chester, sat empty on Friday, a week after Assemblyman Brian Maher said that ICE would not transform it into a detention center.
Maher’s unexpected announcement was met with excitement from elected officials and residents who had vehemently fought against the facility for nearly two months. However, until ICE confirms Maher’s declaration, made while on deployment as a U.S. Navy reservist, there remains concern that the deal is not completely dead.
On Friday, a spokesperson for ICE would not confirm or deny whether ICE still has any plans for a Chester detention center, going to its regurgitated company line: “We have no new detention centers to announce at this time.”
The federal agency would not answer specific questions about the possibility of a detention center in Chester, including Maher’s statement last week. Earlier this month, ICE rolled out plans for the former Pep Boys warehouse. However, ICE later admitted that it had falsely claimed that it purchased the property.
“ICE has consistently sent out contradictory information, dismissed the concerns of residents and elected officials, and repeatedly ignored our Requests for Information,” Ryan said. “This level of gross mismanagement is beyond unacceptable and ends now. We’re demanding answers on whether the facility is truly gone for good, and we’re demanding an investigation into how the hell the Administration came to this dangerous and Un-American decision in the first place.”
Local leaders, both Democrat and Republican, have overwhelmingly opposed the plan and repeatedly said nobody from the federal government has reached out to explain plans for the warehouse.
In a letter to DHS Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari, Ryan and Schumer asked for a comprehensive and independent review examining ICE’s proposed acquisition and development of the facility located at 29 Elizabeth Drive, including:
- Verification of property records
- Accuracy, consistency and dissemination of public communications
- Transparency and engagement with local communities and stakeholders
- Compliance with procurement, financial, and federal acquisition rules
- Internal controls, accountability, and oversight mechanisms
“DHS’s management in the Hudson Valley has been an abject disaster, shrouded in chaos, secrecy, and confusion. Federal leaders’ inquiries are ignored,” Schumer said. “Local leaders are denied answers. Nobody can get a straight answer on whether they’re moving forward. DHS keeps changing its story and clearly can’t be trusted. We are demanding concrete answers and an investigation into DHS’s actions in Orange County because this is unacceptable.”
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