Suburban Montgomery Twp Seeks to Bar Data Centers and Immigrant Detention Sites
Montgomery Township, New Jersey, has introduced an ordinance to prohibit the construction of data centers and immigrant detention facilities within its boundaries. This pre-emptive measure aims to protect local infrastructure and environmental quality, citing concerns about energy and water demands and drawing parallels to a controversial detention center project in Roxbury Township. The ordinance passed its first reading and awaits a public hearing and final vote on June 18, 2026.
Montgomery Township, New Jersey, is moving to prohibit the construction of data centers and immigrant detention facilities within its borders. The Township Committee unanimously passed the first reading of ordinance 26-1779 on May 14, which seeks to amend the municipal land development code to explicitly list these as prohibited uses. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for June 18, 2026.
This action is a pre-emptive response to increasing pressures on local infrastructure and environmental quality, driven by federal immigration policy and the rapid expansion of the artificial intelligence sector. Residents, including Dawn Cohen and former Mayor Devra Keenan, urged the committee to adopt the ordinance, citing concerns about massive energy and water demands, noise and air pollution, increased temperatures, and skyrocketing electricity costs associated with data centers.
A significant catalyst for Montgomery's decision is the ongoing controversy in nearby Roxbury Township, where a property owner sold a large warehouse to the federal government for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing and detention center. The Roxbury project, capable of holding up to 1,500 detainees and located in a residential area, has faced fierce opposition, including lawsuits from New Jersey state and local Roxbury officials, temporarily pausing construction.
The ordinance highlights a broader national debate, with a ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee recently urging a federal moratorium on new AI data centers due to risks to jobs, democracy, and the environment. Montgomery officials aim to avoid similar challenges by proactively banning such developments.