AMID CHAOS, CONFUSION, & OUTRAGE OVER PROPOSED ICE MASS DETENTION FACILITY IN ORANGE COUNTY, CONGRESSMAN PAT RYAN, SENATOR SCHUMER DEMAND ANSWERS AND INVESTIGATION INTO DHS MISMANAGEMENT IN THE HUDSON VALLEY

Amid Chaos, Confusion, & Outrage Over Proposed ICE Mass Detention Facility in Orange County, Congressman Pat Ryan, Senator Schumer Demand Answers and Investigation Into DHS Mismanagement in the Hudson Valley

Local Leaders Unlawfully Denied Answers To Basic Questions As DHS Contradicts Itself And Refuses To Be Transparent On What Its Plans Are In Orange County – Reps Say We Can’t Rely On Words Through Anonymous Sources, We Need To Be Certain This Mass Detention Facility Will Not Move Forward 

Ryan & Schumer Demand An End To The Secrecy And Concrete Answers On What DHS’s Plans Are; Reps Call For An Investigation Into DHS’s Disastrous Management In Orange County  

Ryan, Schumer: No ICE Mass Detention Facility In Orange County 

CHESTER, NY –  After weeks of chaos, secrecy, and changing stories surrounding ICE’s plans for a mass detention facility in Orange County, Congressman Pat Ryan and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer today demanded answers and an investigation into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) disastrous management in Orange County.

Ryan and Schumer are now calling for the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate this massive mismanagement and lack of transparency amid overwhelming community opposition.

“ICE has consistently sent out contradictory information, dismissed the concerns of local residents and elected officials, and repeatedly ignored our Requests for Information. 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,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Not a single elected official – Democrat or Republican – supports this plan, nor were they briefed on it at any point. We don’t want armed, masked agents on our streets. We don’t want a mass detention facility. We want answers, and ICE has a duty to provide them. With Senator Schumer’s support and our entire community behind me, we are not giving up this fight.”

“Since day one, the community has been united in stopping the Trump administration’s unwanted plan for an ICE mass detention facility in Orange County. DHS’s management in the Hudson Valley has been an abject disaster, shrouded in chaos, secrecy, and confusion. Federal leaders’ inquiries are ignored. Local leaders are denied answers. Nobody can get a straight answer on whether they’re moving forward,” said Senator Schumer. “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. Nobody supports this plan. Orange County leaders and residents are determined not to let this happen in our community. ICE’s chaos must end.”

Ryan and Schumer have both vehemently opposed the proposed plan to build an immigrant mass detention center in the former Pep Boys warehouse in Chester and are now demanding concrete and detailed answers regarding ICE’s plan. 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. Ryan launched a petition in opposition to the proposed Chester site, which has gained more than 20,000 signatures and counting. ICE had given contradicting stories, such as falsely claiming that it had purchased the warehouse earlier this month, only to retract that statement.

A copy of Schumer and Ryan’s letter to DHS Inspector General Cuffari can be found HERE and below: 

Dear Inspector General Cuffari,

We write to demand answers and an investigation into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s proposed purchase of a vacant warehouse located at 29 Elizabeth Drive, 10918 in the Village of Chester, New York, for use as an immigration detention facility.

Let us say it plainly from the start: our community strongly rejects this proposal. We are not aware of a single local elected official – Democrat or Republican – who supports this plan. Local leaders have repeatedly said they were not briefed substantively at any point. 

Since our offices first learned of this plan through public reporting and constituent outreach—not through any communication from ICE—the process has been plagued by contradictory and inaccurate statements from federal officials, a complete lack of transparency, and overwhelming community opposition. Communication with our offices has been equally unacceptable. In December, in his official capacity as a member of the United States House of Representatives, Congressman Ryan sent ICE a request for information demanding answers about the proposed Chester facility. After nearly a month’s delay, ICE refused to provide any information. In addition, our community’s petition opposing the Chester facility has continued to grow, and hundreds of local residents have gathered peacefully at meetings to express their opposition—yet bipartisan local officials have still heard nothing from ICE.

These failures raise serious concerns that warrant immediate independent review by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.

To date, the community has received no clear or consistent information regarding the status or development of the proposed detention center. ICE initially told multiple media outlets that it had already purchased the warehouse, presenting the project as a settled fact. Almost immediately, that claim unraveled. County property records showed no sale, no deed transfer, and no filings of any kind. Local officials publicly confirmed they had never been contacted by ICE and described the supposed purchase as a rumor. Only after sustained public scrutiny did ICE reverse course, issuing a late-night statement admitting that its original claim was false and had been sent “without proper approval.”

In the span of a single week, ICE went from asserting ownership of a detention site, to being unable to substantiate that claim, to fully retracting it—leaving residents and local governments in the dark about whether the project was abandoned, paused, or continuing behind closed doors.

This is not a minor communications failure. It reflects a disturbing systemic breakdown within DHS and ICE regarding who authorizes major detention decisions, how information is verified before being released, and whether affected communities are owed notice at all. ICE officials falsely claimed they had acquired a detention facility capable of holding up to 1,500 people, sparking public alarm and disrupting local governance. Quietly walking back, that statement without accountability is entirely unacceptable and unbefitting of a federal agency. 

This is not a marginal oversight lapse—it is an alarming display of a core governance failure.

As the Inspector General for U.S. Department of Homeland Security, you have a statutory obligation under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 401 et seq.) to investigate allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, and potential conflicts of interest within DHS components, including ICE—particularly where federal funds, procurement decisions, and public accountability are at issue.

We therefore request that your office conduct a comprehensive and independent review examining ICE’s proposed acquisition and development of the facility located at 29 Elizabeth Drive, Chester, New York 10918, including the following:

1. Verification of property acquisition claims 
   1. Investigate whether ICE did in fact purchase or attempted to purchase the facility at 29 Elizabeth Drive, Chester, NY 10918. 
   2. Examine property records, deeds, contracts, and any financial transactions.

2. Accuracy, consistency, and dissemination of public communications 
   1. Assess why contradictory or inaccurate statements regarding the facility were issued.
   2. Evaluate whether these misstatements were isolated incidents or reflect a systemic failure in information management.

3. Transparency and engagement with local communities and stakeholders 
   1. Investigate the extent to which ICE communicated with local officials, residents, and other stakeholders prior to announcing the project.
   2. Determine whether the agency violated policies or best practices for informing affected communities about significant enforcement and detention actions.
   3. Assess how the lack of transparency affected public trust and the community’s ability to respond or provide input.

4. Compliance with procurement, financial, and federal acquisition rules 
   1. Determine whether ICE followed federal laws and DHS regulations governing procurement, leasing, and acquisition of real property.
   2. Review use and obligation of federal funds for the proposed project, including approvals, accounting, and documentation.
   3. Examine whether proper audits, reviews, or legal clearances were conducted before public statements were made.

4. Internal controls, accountability, and oversight mechanisms 
   1. Examine whether existing DHS and ICE oversight, auditing, and compliance systems failed to detect or prevent the false statements, lack of transparency, or potential misuse of authority.
   2. Recommend measures to prevent recurrence, strengthen accountability, and ensure transparency in future detention-related decisions.

We respectfully request a written response to our demand that a comprehensive and independent review be conducted of ICE’s proposed acquisition, as outlined in this letter.

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