By Lisa Pillivant
GOSHEN — Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus is condemning the fatal shootings of two Americans by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, calling the deaths “horrible” as Orange County and Chester officials continue to oppose a proposed ICE detention facility in the Village of Chester.
Photo credit: Instagram, msnownews
The comments come amid national fallout from the deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens who were shot and killed during protests tied to immigration enforcement operations earlier this year.
“Regardless of why those two individuals showed up at the protest, the fact that they both died at the hands of another American is a terrible thing,” Neuhaus said in an interview with Mid-Hudson News. “It’s not a car accident, it’s not cancer. But for that situation, they would have been alive today. That’s a horrible thing.”
Authorities in Minnesota have since ruled Pretti’s death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds, a determination that intensified national protests and prompted the Department of Homeland Security to announce new body-camera requirements for immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.
Locally, Neuhaus said the incidents add urgency to Orange County’s opposition to a plan that would convert a vacant 400,000-square-foot warehouse in Chester into a regional ICE detention center.
“This is wrong on multiple levels,” Neuhaus said, citing environmental impacts and the scale of the proposal. He added that plans for extensive fencing around the site would make it appear “like a prisoner-of-war camp,” an outcome he said is incompatible with the surrounding community.
Chester village officials have echoed those concerns in public meetings, warning that the project would dramatically alter the character of the area and strain local infrastructure. Village leaders have said the site was never intended for detention use and questioned how such a facility could be approved without a full environmental review.
“This is not what this property was zoned or designed for,” one Chester official said during recent discussions, adding that residents have raised persistent concerns about traffic, security, and environmental impact. “The village has made it clear we do not support this use.”
Neuhaus said the county’s position is supported by multiple state agencies. “The State Attorney General, the DEC, and the Office of Historic Preservation have all raised objections,” he said, noting that environmental sensitivity and historic preservation concerns remain unresolved.
Community opposition has continued to grow, with residents in Chester, Warwick, and Goshen holding rallies and vigils calling for accountability following the Minneapolis shootings and urging officials to block the detention proposal.
Federal investigations into the Minneapolis deaths remain ongoing. County and village officials say they are still awaiting a formal response from Homeland Security on whether the Chester plan will advance despite mounting local and state resistance.
As Neuhaus said, “People want answers, and they want accountability — not just nationally, but right here at home.”
