U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to hit the brakes on its plan to develop two Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers in Pennsylvania, saying they would have a negative impact on local communities.

“While I have been clear in my support for the enforcement of federal immigration law, this decision will do significant damage to these local tax bases, set back decades-long efforts to boost economic development, and place undue burdens on limited existing infrastructure in these communities,” Fetterman wrote in a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and posted online Saturday.

Fetterman’s criticism comes shortly after DHS purchased an $87 million warehouse in Bern Township, Berks County, and a nearly $120 million former Big Lots distribution center in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County.

The Tremont Township detention center would house as many as 7,500 people, Fetterman noted, while the Bern Township one would be capable of detaining 1,500 people.

Bern Township has 6,706 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and is next to the city of Reading. The facility is near an Amazon warehouse and the Mountain Springs Camping Resort.

Tremont Township — where the much larger detention center is set to be built — has just 283 residents and is next to the 1,670-resident Tremont Borough. Tremont is in a rural area northeast of Harrisburg, near the Appalachian Trail, state game lands, and Fort Indiantown Gap, an Army National Guard training center.

In his letter, Fetterman said local and state officials did not have a chance to weigh in on how these massive facilities would affect everything from sewer systems and the electrical grid to hospitals and emergency medical services.

“Both townships do not currently have the capacity to meet the demands of these detention centers, with Tremont Township officials specifically stating the proposed 7,500-bed detention facility would quadruple the existing burden on their public infrastructure system,” Fetterman said.

The letter maintains Fetterman’s stance as someone who supports ICE operations in general while criticizing the federal government’s recent handling of them. After federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month, Fetterman called on the Trump administration to fire Noem. A few days later, Fetterman said he supports ICE agents wearing face masks.

Fetterman was among 23 Senate Democrats to cross the aisle last month to vote for a compromise bill funding the federal government through September, while granting just two weeks of funding for DHS.

Fetterman said the Pennsylvania facilities would result in a tax loss of $1.6 million to the communities. He asked DHS to agree to several conditions before proceeding further with the sites.

He requested an “impact assessment,” details on the criteria used to select these facilities, an agreement that federal funds be used to upgrade them, and “a commitment to a period of public engagement and dialogue with these communities.”

“Due to these significant concerns, it is my fear that DHS and ICE did not perform any due diligence, spending more than $200 million in tax dollars for warehouses that cannot be adequately converted and further eroding trust between Pennsylvanians and the Federal government,” Fetterman wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey secured a new job on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

He was appointed by Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton and sworn in Thursday, Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board spokesman Doug Harbach told TribLive Friday.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is an independent state agency tasked with regulating casino and internet-based gambling, sports wagering, video-gaming terminal gambling and fantasy sports games.

Gainey will make $145,000 on the board, according to Harbach. The city’s mayor this year makes about $140,000.

Gainey served a single term as Pittsburgh’s mayor. He lost the Democratic primary race to Mayor Corey O’Connor, who went on to beat Republican Tony Moreno in the general election and become the city’s 62nd mayor.

Gainey’s first meeting with the gaming control board will be Feb. 25, according to Harbach.

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman and his Republican colleague, Senator Dave McCormick, emphasized their friendship in a feature article published Thursday.

The lawmakers said in interviews with NOTUS, a political news outlet, that they appreciate each other’s primary interest in representing their politically diverse state.

“We’re very, very good friends, and we get along, and we always try to find ways to work together,” Fetterman said. “Pennsylvania deserves that. And you know, we both realize that we don’t just represent our respective base. We represent all 13 million Pennsylvanians, and that’s why we find ways to work together.”

Fetterman and McCormick have contrasting policy beliefs, although they rarely attack each other’s opinions, as many other members of Congress do. The senators arrived at the Capitol through different paths – Fetterman was a mayor and lieutenant governor while McCormick was a hedge fund executive – but they highlight their respect for each other’s work.

“We look so much different, we have such different backgrounds, we’re from such different parties, we just have so many differences,” McCormick told NOTUS. “But we’re together on the most important thing, which is we trust each other, and we want to do good things for Pennsylvania.”

Bipartisanship, while more common in the Senate than in the House, has become unconventional in Congress. Lawmakers frequently attack each other’s policy opinions and personal characteristics to advance their interests.

On Wednesday, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz shared a social media post by House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, that accused Democrats of causing a woman’s death by not caring about crime. Democrats have also called Republicans callous for cutting social services in the name of reducing taxes.

Fetterman told NOTUS that he and McCormick have a policy of not “mudslinging” like some of their other colleagues do, a statement the Republican agrees with.

“I think he has very little appetite for, you know, the political nastiness and game playing,” McCormick said.

“I don’t have a lot of appetite for that either. I try to be very respectful, even when I disagree with people, so I give him a lot of credit. He’s been a real role model.”

The senators, under party leadership, are currently negotiating funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which has become a source of division among liberals and conservatives. The department’s ICE, in particular, has sparked intense protests that have received passionate pushback.

Fetterman reportedly described his work with McCormick as a way to bridge the gap for their state’s residents.

“A lot of the noise is coming from people from the extreme or the very deep red or blue states,” the Democrat told NOTUS. “We occupy a space in between where we have to find a way to remember that we are both Pennsylvania’s voice from different parties.”

Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.