President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed months ago that it would use Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as an immigrant detention center, but in a letter sent to two New Jersey congressmen this week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said there’s “no firm timeframe” for when the facility will begin operations.
Noem’s letter to Reps. Donald Norcross (D-Camden) and Herb Conaway (D-Delran), the latter of whom represents half of the base in Congress, indicates that the process of constructing the infrastructure needed to detain immigrants has not even begun, and that DHS is still “assess[ing] the viability” of such a plan.
“Currently, there is no approved construction plan for the location of this facility and no firm timeframe for intakes or length of operation at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst,” Noem wrote. “ICE is working with [the Department of War] to determine the appropriate acquisition strategy to support this site. Should a contract be awarded to build and operate a detention facility at this location, the contract will establish the detention standards by which the detention operator will be obligated to abide.”
Some of Noem’s answers, though, could be out of date; the letter is dated September 29, 2025, but Norcross and Conaway said they did not receive it until November 17. Their initial letter to Noem requesting details on the JBMDL plan was sent on July 28.
New Jersey currently has two operational immigrant detention facilities, the Elizabeth Detention Center and Delaney Hall in Newark, that collectively have around 1,300 beds. The Trump administration, which has sought to massively ramp up the country’s immigrant detention and deportation networks, began looking into the possibility of using JBMDL in Burlington and Ocean Counties as as detention center at the beginning of this year, and confirmed in a July 15 letter to Conaway that they were moving ahead with the plan.
Conaway, Norcross, and most of their Democratic colleagues in the New Jersey delegation quickly sent a letter asking a number of follow-up questions: when would the facility begin operations? Who would be detained there? Would federal officials coordinate with base leaders and surrounding communities? What costs would be reimbursed?
Noem’s response answers some of those questions. She wrote that detainees will be allowed access to medical care and legal representation, and that DHS will “coordinate with law enforcement partners”; she also claimed that ICE is focusing its detention efforts on criminals and other potentially dangerous persons, though data from New Jersey’s two existing detention centers show that isn’t necessarily the case.
“ICE makes custody determinations on a case-by-case basis, weighing all relevant factors, including risk of flight, danger to public safety, and national security concerns,” Noem wrote. “ICE also evaluates humanitarian circumstances as required by law, including serious medical conditions or primary caregiver status. Consistent with Trump Administration directives, however, ICE is prioritizing the detention of criminal aliens, cartel-linked traffickers, and others who pose clear threats to the safety and security of the United States.”
Noem’s letter is the second response Conaway and Norcross have gotten from the Trump administration on JBMDL; the first, an October letter from the Department of Defense, contained no new information at all.
The two congressmen said in a statement that they remain concerned about the Trump administration’s “ongoing disregard” for undocumented immigrants’ rights, and that they will continue to press for detailed answers on the administration’s plans for JBMDL.
“While we acknowledge that the Department of Homeland Security has finally responded to our questions, we will continue to monitor for any further developments regarding plans to house undocumented immigrants at the joint base,” they said. “Our priority is to uphold the human rights standards that these individuals deserve and to ensure that plans to house undocumented immigrants at the joint base do not interfere with military readiness.”
Noem JBMDL letter
