FORTY FORT, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A branch of Homeland Security is coming to Luzerne County. The Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority approved contracts for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is overseen by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to work out of its facility.
HSI is a department under ICE. This agency will soon occupy a vacant section of the facility.
The executive director tells 28/22 News the leasing deal has been a few years in the making, and it's one a county resident I spoke with feels unsure about.
The Luzerne County Flood Protection Facility in Forty Fort will soon be home to the HSI.
"It won't make any difference to me if they are here or not here," said Back Mountain resident Paul Haradem.
Haradem of the Back Mountain area says he feels indifferent about an agency overseen by ICE moving into Luzerne County.
He just wishes these kind of operations were more transparent.
"I think we should know who our police are. We don't want to have secret police is essentially how they are acting," Haradem added.
"For the safety of Homeland Security's employees and also for the authority's staff, we can't go into discussions about the lease agreement," Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority Executive Director Chris Belleman explained.
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But Belleman could clarify the following:
"I can say that there will be no overnight detention or holding cells. I mean people will be brought in to be processed, but then they will be removed and go to Luzerne County Prison," Belleman stated.
The flood authority occupies two-thirds of the space inside the facility.
Belleman tells 28/22 News they advertised the vacant space to be rented roughly two years ago, and Homeland Security was the only firm to want it.
The lease was signed in the fall of 2024.
"This isn't something that just happened. It's been a discussion for several years now," Belleman added.
Belleman says it was business-driven and not a politically driven decision.
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The sole source of income for the flood authority is the levee fee that's imposed on the properties behind the Wyoming Valley flood protection system.
He says he wants to keep that fee as low as possible.
"Our mission, as you can see by our title, is we want to protect the infrastructure and save lives from flooding along the river," Belleman continued.
Belleman says they have a three-year term with Homeland Security and expect to receive roughly 30,000 annually in lease payments.
He anticipates the homeland security agency to occupy the space by the end of summer.
