The Department of Homeland Security is backing away from plans to use a warehouse in Roxbury Township as part of a major immigration detention center expansion, according to The New York Times.

The agency plans to offload several warehouse sites after facing lawsuits and local opposition, the Times reports.

"DHS's plans were always illegal: the Roxbury warehouse is a logistics center fit for packages, not thousands of people, and did nothing to make New Jersey safer. In fact, we told them it would have devastating impacts on the water and sewage systems, and compromise an environmentally sensitive area. That's why we joined the town of Roxbury in court and stopped this detention center from moving forward in the first place," Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote in a joint statement.

"This isn't a partisan issue and we're grateful for our partnership with the Roxbury community as we keep DHS's feet to the fire to ensure this facility is never opened," they wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security said the agency is focused on removing the "worst of the worst" criminals from the United States and is "always evaluating the best methods to do so."

"These heinous criminals, once arrested, should be removed at lightning speed, not housed on American soil at the taxpayer’s expense. DHS is moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners,” said a DHS spokesperson.