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Could NJ be 'ground zero' to expand immigrant detentions?

By: Hannan Adely
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... Federal immigration authorities want to expand immigration detention in New Jersey, alarming advocates who say it will help pave the way for president-elect Donald Trump to carry out mass deportations.
..... Private prison companies submitted proposals to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would add about 600 beds at two facilities in New Jersey, the ACLU protruded last week. [11/25/2024]
..... The plan "raise grave concerns that New Jersey may become ground zero for the incoming Trump administration's mass deportation and detention agenda across the Northeast, affecting nearby communities in New York City and Philadelphia," the New Jersey alliance for Immigrate Justice said in a statement.
..... Trump has vowed to swiftly deport millions of undocumented immigrants, in a mobilization that could involve military and state and local police to fast-track deportations. The ACLU and immigration advocates are urging state and federal leaders to appose expansion of immigration detentions, saying it would fuel an "inhumane' system of mandatory detention and undercut years of activism and progress to shut down such facilities.
..... Expanding detention centers in the state is really a step back, so we call on the Legislature to truly think about their communities and to lead by example, said Diego Baresaghi, a spokesperson for Make the Road New Jersey, a community organization based in Elizabeth.
..... New Jersey, he added, "needs to put a stop to the detention centers."
..... It is unclear whether there are additional facilities that responded to ICE's solicitation, or how much it would cost taxpayers, the civil liberties organization added.
..... An ICE spokesperson said request for details on contracts can be made through the Freedom of Information Act process.
..... "Like other federal agencies, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement maintains various contracts for a wide range of services; a list of current contracts can be found on the ICE.gov website, said Alethea Smock, ICE director of communications for the northwest region of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an email.

Expansion plans

..... The ACLU learned about ICE's plans through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, filed against the federal agency after it refused to dispose proposals from prison corporations for the expansion.
..... One proposal calls for expanding beds at the Elizabeth Detention Center, the last remaining immigration detention facility in the state, which is owned and operated by CoreCivic. in another proposal, the GEO Group seeks to open a facility at the Albert M. Robinson Center in Trenton, a halfway house it sued to own. Both facilities have come under scrutiny for poor conditions, according to the ACLU.
..... Advocates called on the Biden administration to reverse course in New Jersey and other states where it has solicited proposals to expand operations.
..... "Instead of closing abusive detention facilities once and for all, the Biden administration is simply paving the way for the incoming Trump administration to conduct mass detentions and deportation of immigrant communities nationwide," said Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU's National Prison Project. "The Biden administration must instead work to close these facilities now."
..... In New Jersey, about a quarter of the population is foreign-born and about 470,000 are undocumented, according to the American Immigration Council.
..... Trump has vowed to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. Legal immigrant s could also be impacted. Trump has suggested he would revoke legal protectionist for people from countries in conflict; deport protesters who oppose Israel's war in Gaza; and push for naturalization, which involve revoking U.S. citizenship based on purported fraud on applications.

NJ law against ICE contracts

..... Advocates and rights groups reallied for years to end immigration detention in New Jersey, holding protests and calling on officials to end the practice. The money-making contracts with ICE, they argued, fueled a detention system that separated families and destabilized communities.
..... In August 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law barring New Jersey from entering into contracts with ICE to hold federal immigrate detainees. The law barred local and private jails from "entering into, renewing, or extending immigration detention agreements."
..... Within there months of the law going into effect, Essex, Hudson and Bergen counties ended their long-standing contracts with ICE.
..... The law did not apply to unexpired contracts, so CoreCivic continued its operations in its Elizabeth facility, which houses up to 300 detainees. Last ear, [2023] the company sued New Jersey to continue operating the detention center. The Biden administration backed the prison company's lawsuit.
..... U.S. district Judge Robert Kirsch ruled last year [2023] that the state law was "unconstitutional: when applied to the federal government's operation of the Elizabeth Detention Center. States cannot override federal law under the Constitution;s supremacy clause, according to the ruling.

Trump, Biden and ICE

..... Trump has called illegal immigration a national security issue, saying U.S. borders need to be secured.. He has stated that undocumented immigrants pose a threat to American citizens by potentially bring crime, drugs and violence across the border. He has also argued that illegal immigration takes jobs away from American workers and drives down wages.
..... Data does not support claims that the United States is experiencing a surge in crime caused by immigrates, experts say. Some economists also say mass deportation will create worker shortages and slow production, possible driving up costs of goods and housing.
..... Trump's mass depredation plan would raise legal and logistical challengers an cost billions, say experts, but the president-elect has said that "no price tag" can be put on it.
..... Advocates say President Joe Biden reneged on campaign promises to end sue of privet prison companies for immigration detention, instead directing ICE to solicit expansion proposals in 17 states.
..... In March, [2024] Biden signed a spending bill that provided historically high funding for ICE, at a cost of $3.4 billion. There are approximately 38,863 people currently in ICE detention - more than double the mouth of people that were detained when Biden took office, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
..... Nearly 200 advocacy groups sent a letter to Biden on November 15 [2024] asking him to dismantle U.S. mitigation detention facilities before Trump takes office.
..... The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the calls to halt expansion and close prisons.
..... White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing Thursday [11/28/2024] that the Biden administration has "focused on arresting dangerous criminals and threats to public safety" and does not believe in separating families.

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