Preview — ICEd Out: Detention center plans meet resistance in Pennsylvania’s coal region.
May 21, 2026 | 1:33 pm ET
Description
The site of the former Big Lots warehouse that Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to turn into a 7,500-person detention center in Tremont, Schuylkill County, on March 12, 2026. (Photograph by Jessica Kourkounis/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
On Wednesday, May 27, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star will launch an audio series (along with digital stories) called “ICEd Out: Detention center plans meet resistance in Pennsylvania’s coal region.”
Our audio reporter Emily Previti spent the past few months looking into federal plans to convert a former Big Lots warehouse in the coal region of Pennsylvania into one of the largest immigrant detention centers in the nation. As it stands, infrastructure in the rural area cannot support an operation of its scale – and that reality has essentially opened the door for the state government to stall the project.
Previti attended public meetings and obtained documents about the federal government’s plans, but most importantly, she spent time with the people impacted the most — residents, elected leaders and business owners — to learn bout the impact of this plan on their community.
Here, she shares a preview of the series:
Harrisburg, PA
