May 8—There will be no immigration enforcement operations based in or operating out of offices the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority plans to lease to U.S Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Forty Fort Borough said Thursday.
The unused space in the flood authority’s Forty Fort headquarters will host administrative offices for HSI, which is overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The borough said the offices are being moved there from their location in the regional office of the PA Attorney General in Wilkes-Barre.
“HSI conducts complex criminal investigations around human trafficking, narcotics smuggling, cyber-crimes, identity theft, etc.,” a post on the Forty Fort Facebook page read. “There will be NO immigration enforcement operations based in or operating out of the offices in Forty Fort.”
Clarification from the borough on what the office space will be used for comes after a planned meeting Wednesday with Forty Fort officials, the Luzerne County Flood Protection and officials from Homeland Security.
Forty Fort Mayor Brian Thomas at a recent council session said the meeting was held in order for the borough to get a better idea of what HSI will use the space for.
The Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority held a meeting on April 22, where the board voted to award several contracts to begin renovations on the space.
Authority executive director Christopher Belleman said after the meeting that the renovation plans do not call for detention or holding cells.
According to previous reporting, Belleman said Homeland Security will pay the authority approximately $30,000 annually to lease 1,700 square feet of space for three years, with the option for an additional two-year renewal.
At the time, authority Board Chairman Dominic Yannuzzi said the additional revenue will help reduce the burden on Wyoming Valley Levee fee payers to maintain the flood control system along the Susquehanna River, which protects approximately 100,000 residents in 12 municipalities.
Democratic Socialists of America’s Northeast Pennsylvania branch and other groups held a cookout-style townhall in Betty Mascelli Park on May 3 to discuss ICE’s presence in Forty Fort, while Bikers for Trump and NEPA Republicans protested the town hall and showed support for the department.