Hundreds Continue to Oppose Proposed ICE Facility in Chester, NY

Hundreds of residents in Chester are continuing to push back against a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, following packed meetings at both the village and town levels earlier this week.

On Monday, residents filled a Village of Chester board meeting, voicing opposition to plans to convert a former warehouse in an industrial area of the village into an ICE detention center. Days later, that concern carried over into the Town of Chester town board meeting, where residents again packed the room and pressed local officials for answers.

As Town Supervisor Brandon Holdridge opened the town board meeting and outlined his agenda for 2026, he added one unexpected item — a direct response to the growing opposition.

“And the final one that I’ll add to my agenda is to keep ICE out of the town of Chester,” Holdridge said, drawing loud applause from the audience.

Holdridge went on to cite a series of recent incidents involving ICE nationwide, including deaths in custody and violent encounters involving ICE agents. He said those examples underscored why he does not want a detention facility in Chester.

“Thirty-two people died in ICE custody in 2025,” Holdridge said. “I don’t want any of that happening here in Chester.”

Public comment at the meeting stretched late into the evening, with many residents speaking out against the proposal. Among them was civil rights attorney Michael Sussman, who warned that an ICE facility would undermine decades of progress in a community that has grown more diverse over time.

“This community has grown remarkably,” Sussman said. “Its leadership has diversified, and to put an ICE facility in the middle of this community would be a tremendous slap in the face at the progress we’ve made.”

Sussman also cautioned that placing a detention center in Chester would introduce what he described as an “infrastructure of fear” into a community built on inclusion.

“I think it would be tragic for the infrastructure of fear and hate to be spread in our community,” he said.

Opposition to the proposal has also come from county leadership. Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus, a Republican, said he plans to formally oppose any effort to convert the former warehouse into an ICE detention facility.

Neuhaus said the county has not been notified by the Department of Homeland Security about any formal plan and emphasized that local officials have not been presented with details.

“Nobody’s even reached out to us to say, ‘Here’s the plan,’” Neuhaus said. “To me, this is not very well thought out and not something we want to do.”

Neuhaus added that similar facilities elsewhere have had devastating impacts on local communities and said there is no local support for the proposal.

Village officials have also said they have not received a formal application for the facility.