At our monthly meeting on February 2, 2026, the Warwick Town Democratic Committee voted to adopt the following resolution. A PDF version is available here.
WARWICK TOWN DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE
Resolution – Adopted February 2, 2026
Stating Opposition to Proposed ICE Warehouse in Chester, NY
WHEREAS, the Washington Post reported in late December that internal documents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) has proposed repurposing a former Pep Boys warehouse in the Village of Chester; and
WHEREAS, the administration of Donald Trump has turned DHS and ICE into a secret police force whose agents abduct and brutalize people of color in our communities while concealing their identities and ignoring federal, state, and local laws; and
WHEREAS, ICE has shown escalating radicalization and violence against innocent Americans, including but not limited to the high-profile executions of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, and
WHEREAS, since Donald Trump took office for his second term, ICE has shot at least 30 people, killing at least 8, and
WHEREAS, DHS officials have proven numerous times that they cannot be trusted after lying to the American public about the circumstances that led to shootings by ICE and Border Patrol; and
WHEREAS, ICE and DHS have shown that they are not limiting their pursuit to criminals as they claim, but targeting all people—immigrants and citizens alike—based primarily on ethnicity, skin color, language, and accent; and
WHEREAS, numerous agents and officials within DHS, ICE, and Border Patrol have been revealed by media investigations as white supremacist activists and neo-Nazis, including but not limited to James Rodden, an assistant chief counsel in the Dallas ICE office who ran a white supremacist X account; and
WHEREAS, according to reporting from The Intercept and other media outlets, DHS and ICE have used imagery and music known to be associated with neo-Nazis in its publicity and recruiting, including a recruitment post less than two days after the murder of Renee Good that included the song “We’ll Have Our Home Again” by the Pine Tree Riots, a known anthem of the neo-Nazi movement; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Warwick counts many thousands of immigrants among the people who live and work here, especially farmworkers who are vital to our town’s farming industry; and
WHEREAS, New York State has one of the largest immigrant populations in the United States, with foreign-born residents making up more than 20% of our population; and
WHEREAS, immigrants are a welcome and vital part of the community in the Town of Warwick as in the rest of the United States, whose positive contributions are far too numerous to list; and
WHERAS, all people are entitled to basic human rights and dignity, regardless of their immigration status or perceived value to our society; and
WHEREAS, elected officials and residents from the Village of Chester, Town of Chester, neighboring towns, Orange County, and the State of New York have stated their strong opposition to this proposal, and
WHEREAS, ICE has been shown to inflict grievous harm on any community in which it operates;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Warwick Town Democratic Committee opposes this and any proposal to expand ICE presence in our community, and
BE IT FUTHER RESOLVED, that the Warwick Town Democratic Committee will pursue and support any legal mechanism to block this proposal, and that we encourage all of our members and supporters to do likewise.