Hundreds gathered in Algonquin Park in the town of Newburgh Tuesday night to protest after news broke last week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may soon occupy a warehouse in the community.
Among them was Sr. Yliana Hernández, a member of the Roman Catholic religious order the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who lives in nearby New Windsor, where ICE occupies office space.
“In Leviticus 19, God commands, do not mistreat the foreigner; love them as yourself,” she told the crowd. “And guess what? This is not a suggestion. It is a command.”
She said she’s compelled, as a Catholic, to speak up. She said Jesus was also a refugee fleeing violence.
“This immigrant story is our story,” she said. “In Matthew 25, Jesus said, I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. Jesus does not say, I was a stranger, and you checked my documents. Jesus did not say I was [a] stranger, and you built a wall. Jesus did not say I was a stranger, and you detained me.”
Documents that surfaced last week indicate that the U.S. General Services Administration is leasing a warehouse at 800 Corporate Blvd. in the Orange County town that could be used by ICE. Records first reported by Project Salt Box show a government solicitation for a secured space with sally ports for detainee buses and documents titled “NEW LEASE – DHS ICE.”
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, who represents the town of Newburgh as part of New York's 18th Congressional District, said he has inquired with the Department of Homeland Security and the Trump administration about the news.
“DHS and the Trump administration are giving no information, no transparency to me, to local elected officials, to community members when we're asking the most basic questions,” he said.
A spokesperson for the General Services Administration said in a statement, "We remain focused on supporting this administration's goal of fortifying the federal footprint and providing the best workplaces for our federal agencies to meet their mission.”
Neither ICE nor the property owner responded to WAMC's request for comment.
Mark Sanchez, a Newburgh resident who attended the rally Tuesday, called ICE “a rogue agency” and the “American Gestapo,” referencing the secret political police of Nazi Germany.
“They will do whatever they can to detain as many human beings as possible,” Sanchez said. “This is just straight dehumanization. … people will die, and they are dying, right? And they have died. So, the other thing is that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security has hundreds of lawsuits against them right now. Why? For abuse and for sexual assault of detainees.”
A 2025 report by Democratic U.S. Sen. John Ossoff of Georgia found hundreds of reports of human rights abuses in U.S. immigration detention centers, including cases allegedly involving pregnant women and children, and 41 cases of physical and sexual abuse.
WAMC reached out to Republican state Sens. Peter Oberacker and Rob Rolison, who represent districts that neighbor the area where the proposed ICE facility would be located, as well as state Senate hopeful Republican Assemblyman Chris Tague, for comment on this story, but did not immediately receive responses.
Newburgh Town Council member Mary Lou Carolan said it makes sense that ICE would move into Newburgh after the agency explored purchasing a warehouse in the town of Chester.
“This facility is right next to the Stewart International Airport, so transporting people out of this area would be pretty easy to do,” she said. “I think we are susceptible because we appear to accept all the warehouses that other surrounding towns don't want.”
