“How Am I Going to Sell My House With This Crap in My Backyard?”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has purchased a vacant 470,000-square-foot warehouse in Roxbury Township, New Jersey, for $129.3 million, intending to convert it into an immigration detention facility with 1,500 beds by November. This acquisition is part of a larger $38.3 billion federal initiative to establish eight large-scale detention centers and 16 processing sites nationwide. The plan faces strong bipartisan opposition from Roxbury residents, local officials, and state politicians, citing concerns over infrastructure, transparency, and the moral implications of housing detainees in suburban areas. This local resistance highlights a growing "Not In My Backyard" sentiment as federal immigration enforcement expands into new communities. The controversy underscores the challenges of implementing large-scale immigration policies in residential zones.