Dozens of residents filled the Town of Newburgh board meeting Tuesday evening to demand answers on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s presence in Orange County.

Radio Catskill first reported last week that the General Services Administration (GSA) awarded a new federal contract to Chicago-based Cotter Consulting, LLC for “repair or alteration of office buildings” in Newburgh. The contract didn’t list an address or property the alterations are for.

Federal records show the award listed for $172,825, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the funding agency and ICE as the funding sub-agency. ‘Enforcement and Removal Operations New York’ is listed as the funding office. 

The award started on Sept. 25, 2026 and ends on May 14, 2027, according to USAspending.gov, the federal government’s open data source of federal spending.

READ: New Federal Government Award Renews Questions About ICE Presence in Orange County

The latest contract comes three months after GSA awarded a 15-year lease to Texas-based contractor Leverage Enterprises for $35.57 million to lease a 42,377-square-foot warehouse in Newburgh.

While the federal lease did not disclose the property address, GSA’s property inventory previously listed 800 Corporate Boulevard in Newburgh with the same square-foot measurements. 800 Corporate Boulevard is no longer listed as a leased GSA property.

Town of Newburgh Supervisor Gil Piaquadio said he hasn’t received any information from the federal government regarding the latest contract for repairs.

“I contacted the Governor [Hochul]’s representative. I was hoping the Governor would do an emergency order that warehouses cannot be residences. For some reason, they don’t wanna seem to take that step. For us, it’ll be a costly step, and we’re not sure if it’ll even be successful,” said Piaquadio.

He said the Town’s legal advisors are still looking into the legal challenges a potential ICE facility in Newburgh presents.

On Wednesday night, local residents raised concerns to the town board as ICE agents prepare to ramp up national immigration arrests by 1,000 more people daily. Several protesters interrupted the town meeting to oppose ICE’s presence in Newburgh and were removed by police officers.

Newburgh resident Pearl Johnson recalled learning last week that ICE agents shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal in the Bronx into his car while his 5-year-old son was also inside the vehicle. Federal authorities say Belgal allegedly tried to ram officers with a vehicle when they tried to detain him.

“ICE is not a good thing to have in our community in any form,” said Johnson. “They don’t follow the rules. They open a community up to tremendous liability, and it is something that we all together have to work against.”

Christopher Wise, a local resident and army veteran, said a potential ICE facility could hurt the economic future of Newburgh.

“ Placing a controversial federal enforcement agency here will severely hurt our local business climate, drive down commercial property values, and deter future residential buyers from choosing Newburgh,” said Wise.

U.S. Representative Pat Ryan, who represents New York’s 18th congressional district, launched a petition in July to stop a potential ICE facility in Newburgh.

“From the very beginning, the Trump Administration – particularly ICE and DHS – have refused to be transparent with our community. We’ve made it crystal clear: we strongly reject a mass detention center or any ICE facility in the Hudson Valley. When they tried to build one in Chester, we fought back and won. Now, we’re doing the same thing in Newburgh,” Ryan told Radio Catskill. “Our message to ICE is simple: no matter where in the Hudson Valley you try to build this next, we will fight back and we will win.”

Town of Newburgh and the Orange County Legislature both passed resolutions earlier this year opposing an ICE detention warehouse in Newburgh.