The Department of Homeland Security has purchased a warehouse in Berks County that could be converted into an immigration detention center, public records showed. A deed obtained by NBC10 showed that ICE bought a warehouse in Upper Bern Township for $87.4 million in Jan. 2026, which could be con verted to an immigration detention center. “Upper Bern Township learned yesterday that the United States of America, with an address of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency in Washington, D.C., purchased the GACSD warehouse located at 3501 Mountain Road, Hamburg, Berks County, PA,” the solicitor for Upper Bern Township told NBC10. “The Township was not involved in this transfer and has not received any applications from either the prior or new owners regarding the future use of the property. The Township has no further comment on this matter at this time.” SkyForce10 flew over the warehouse earlier on Tuesday. More than 75,000 immigrants were being detained by ICE as of mid-January, up from 40,000 when Trump took office a year earlier, according to federal data released Tuesday. In a little over a year, the number of detention facilities used by ICE more than doubled, to 225 sites spread across a combined 48 states and territories. Most of that growth came through existing contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service or deals to use empty beds at county jails. Trump’s administration now is taking steps to open more large-scale facilities. In January, ICE paid $102 million for a warehouse in Washington County, Maryland and more than $70 million for one in Surprise, Arizona, along with the facility in Berks County. Federal immigration officials have toured large warehouses elsewhere, without releasing many details about the efforts. “They will be very well structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards,” ICE said in a statement, adding: “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.” ...read more read less