Goshen, N.Y. — Orange County legislators unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday night to “vehemently” oppose a proposed ICE facility in Orange County.
More than 250 residents from across the Hudson Valley, including Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties, packed the Government Center in Goshen to protest the proposed facility at the former Pep Boys warehouse in the Village of Chester. Dozens of attendees made public comments for nearly two and a half hours urging the legislature to oppose the plans, with only one person speaking out in support of President Trump’s mass immigration raids.
“They zip tied U.S. citizens and U.S. children on the street in pajamas by unmasked men… when did that become acceptable to zip tie children?” said Hope McKillian, a Middletown resident, about the increased immigrant raids across the country.
Orange County Legislator Genesis Ramos introduced the resolution opposing the facility in January. She said garnering bipartisan support from all 21 Republican and Democratic legislators shows the resolution transcends ideological differences.
“It’s important that we send a strong and loud message to the federal government that we do not want an inhumane ICE facility in our backyard,” said Ramos, who leads the Orange County Democratic Caucus.
Ramos adds that while some legislators voted to oppose the facility due to sewage capacity concerns, she would oppose the facility even if Chester did have the infrastructure.
Orange County Legislature Chairwoman Laurie Tautel said the county clerk has been flooded with over 400 emails on the resolution. “[That’s] unprecedented to have that many responses sent on a single item, even for an agenda in totality,” said Tautel. “They want nothing to do with an ICE facility in Orange County and in Chester.”
The possibility of an increased ICE presence in the Hudson Valley has already had a chilling effect on local residents. NAACP Middletown President Cindy-Lee Dorcely said she’s been carrying her passport out of fear of ICE in her neighborhood.
“I’ve been here for 36 years and I’ve been a citizen for 20 [years], but I’m still carrying it around. I’m forcing my husband to carry his [passport]. He’s a Haitian immigrant, but he’s a citizen,” said Dorcely. “I’m losing my mind and this is the thing that people are dealing with every single day.”
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus has said he opposes the facility but some residents say his cooperation with ICE at the Orange County Jail undermines his stance. The Orange County Jail currently serves as an immigration detention facility and has faced significant criticism for inadequate and systemic medical treatment of detained individuals.
The Department of Homeland Security has already purchased several warehouses in 2026, including in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Maryland, which could be used as ICE detention centers.
Image: Hundreds of residents packed the Government Center in Goshen, N.Y. on February 5, 2026 (Photo Credit: Kimberly Izar)
I am an Orange County resident and I congratulate the legislature and the county executive for their stance against the detention center in Orange County. Let us pay fees for the jail and let the services be improved to the inmates. Immigrants who are currently incarcerated and who have committed crimes should go before an immigration judge to see if they should be deported. There is no harm in cooperating, but there is Harm in acquiescing.
George, you have a lot of Orange County fellow citizens who agree with you. Regarding conditions at the OC jail, I sincerely hope the OC Democrats endorse a winning candidate in the upcoming election for sheriff – that’s who administers the jail and can ensure conditions are humane. We need the jail, we do not need an ICE prison in OC.