You wouldn’t expect a quiet, rural town in Pennsylvania to make national headlines, but that’s exactly what happened when news broke that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quietly spent almost $90 million on a massive warehouse in Hamburg.
The purchase has raised eyebrows and sparked questions about what the government plans to do with the property.
Deed records obtained by the Daily Mail reveal that ICE acquired the gray, 518,000-square-foot building in cash for $87.4 million on January 29.
The agency reportedly intends to house around 1,500 migrants there, as deportation efforts continue at a rapid pace under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), overseen by Secretary Kristi Noem.
From Rodeos to Migrant Housing
The building wasn’t always a government property.
Formerly called the Hamburg Logistics Center, it has a colorful history as the Mountain Springs Arena, where locals once enjoyed rodeos and demolition derbies.
Now, it sits quietly along Interstate-78 in Upper Bern Township, near Hamburg, surrounded by farmland.
Interestingly, the area has a 10,000-acre hunting ground to the north, while an Amazon fulfillment center operates less than a mile away.
On January 15, about two weeks before the sale, Spotlight PA reported that roughly two dozen people toured the facility. One man identified himself as an ICE official.
Part of a Bigger Expansion Plan
The Hamburg warehouse is just one piece of a much larger push by ICE.
Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is considering purchasing up to 23 warehouses nationwide to accommodate the growing number of migrants the agency seeks to deport.
The Hamburg site alone could be retrofitted to hold around 1,500 detainees.
In January alone, ICE spent nearly $380 million acquiring four warehouses.
The other three include a facility in Tremont, Pennsylvania; Hagerstown, Maryland; and Surprise, Arizona.
Local Concerns and Community Backlash
The Tremont warehouse, which cost more than $119 million, used to serve as a Big Lots distribution center before the company filed for bankruptcy.
Its proximity—less than half a mile—to the Kids-R-Kids Childcare Center has alarmed local residents.
Many believe the building will be used to house undocumented migrants, sparking safety concerns among parents and staff.
Joyce Wetzel, who owns the daycare, told WNEP-TV that she understands parents’ worries but feels limited in what she can do.
“I don’t like it, but there’s nothing you can do. I’m trying to reassure my parents and my staff that we should be okay,” she said.
Bloomberg reported that the Tremont warehouse alone could house as many as 7,500 detainees.
A Record of Deportations
The warehouse acquisitions coincide with aggressive deportation policies.
DHS says nearly three million people have been deported since Donald Trump began his second presidential term on January 1, 2025.
Secretary Noem highlighted the administration’s efforts in a statement:
“In President Trump’s first year back in office, nearly three million illegal aliens have left the U.S., including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations and more than 675,000 formal deportations.
Fentanyl trafficking at the southern border has been cut by more than half compared to 2024, and the U.S. Coast Guard seized enough cocaine to endanger millions.
Taxpayers have saved over $13.2 billion, countless lives have been saved, communities strengthened, and the American people have been put first again.”
What’s Next for the Warehouses?
ICE has yet to confirm the exact plans for these new facilities.
The agency did not respond to requests for comment, leaving residents, journalists, and lawmakers speculating.
Whether these warehouses will become long-term migrant detention centers or serve another purpose, one thing is clear: rural towns like Hamburg and Tremont are now part of a national immigration story, and the conversation around it is just beginning.
