Records obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union show that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are working to expand immigrant detention capacity in New Jersey, despite opposition. (John Moore | Getty Images)
Federal immigration authorities are working to expand immigrant detention capacity in New Jersey ahead of mass deportations President-elect Donald Trump has said he will order, new records reveal.
The American Civil Liberties Union discovered the expansion plans after suing in September to obtain records on contract solicitations Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials issued in June to secure additional detention space around the country.
The records show ICE officials are eyeing at least three New Jersey facilities that would be run by private prison companies and have a combined capacity of about 2,500:
- Albert M. “Bo” Robinson Treatment Center, a 1,000-bed facility in Trenton that held state prisoners until 2022. Records indicate ICE is looking to house 600 immigrants at the center, where the New York Times uncovered sexual assaults, robberies, and other abusive conditions during a 2012 investigation.
- Elizabeth Detention Center, a 300-bed facility owned and operated by CoreCivic, Inc., that now is the state’s only immigrant detention center. Records show ICE aims to create a new outdoor recreation center at this facility, which made headlines in 2021 for abusive treatment, cramped and unsanitary living conditions, and medical neglect.
- Delaney Hall, a 1,196-bed facility that housed immigrant detainees between 2011 and 2017. Records show GEO Group Inc. expects to secure a 15-year contract by the end of December to detain a minimum of 600 immigrants there, despite community opposition.
The documents don’t indicate if ICE is considering other facilities beyond those that responded to its solicitation, nor how much it would all cost — and how much taxpayers would cover.
The expansion plans come as a 2021 state law banning immigrant detention centers in New Jersey remains in legal limbo after CoreCivic and GEO Group sued to block it. A federal judge partially struck down the law last year as unconstitutional, the state appealed, and court arguments are expected in early 2025.
They also come as legislation that would give immigrants in New Jersey new protections remains stalled in the Statehouse.
That’s why it’s urgent that policymakers act, said Ami Kachalia, an ACLU-NJ campaign strategist. State lawmakers should pass the legislation, known as the Immigrant Trust Act, “so that New Jersey is not complicit in separating families or depriving our residents of due process,” Kachalia said in a statement.
“New Jersey has already taken steps to oppose immigrant detention by phasing out ICE contracts and closing county-run ICE jails. But as federal plans to expand detention in New Jersey continue, the need for protections grow by the day,” she added.
Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, called on state lawmakers to go even further. She pointed to California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special session next month to protect immigrants and otherwise “Trump-proof” the state, and Boston, where Mayor Michelle Wu this week doubled down on the city’s sanctuary status for immigrants.
“I think New Jersey hasn’t explicitly said yet whether or not they will cooperate,” Torres said.
Spokespeople for Gov. Phil Murphy’s office didn’t respond to the New Jersey Monitor’s request for comment Friday.
Most of the state’s congressional delegation have signed letters urging the Biden administration to back off of plans for new immigration detention centers in New Jersey.
Undocumented residents here have basic protections under a 2018 order by the state attorney general known as the Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits local police from sharing information with federal immigration authorities.
“But those protections do not expand to other sensitive places like schools and health care facilities and libraries,” Torres said.
Torres called the ACLU’s discoveries “scary,” because “every available option is on the table, not just the sites that we know.”
“It is so important that not a single dollar of New Jersey resources are used for Trump’s vengeful and dangerous plan,” Torres said.
More than 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the U.S., and about a half million of them are in New Jersey, by federal and state estimates.
ICE spokespeople did not respond to the New Jersey Monitor’s request for comment.
But in the records the ACLU obtained, ICE officials said expanding detention capacity would help fulfill “ICE’s mission to protect society along with achieving the goals of the DHS and the mandates of the U.S. Congress.”
Local and regional economies would benefit because the detention centers would create new jobs, officials noted.
“Strengthening the nation’s capacity to detain and remove criminal and other deportable noncitizens is a key component of ICE’s strategy to deter illegal immigration and protect public safety,” one document stated.
Sophie Nieto-Muñoz contributed to this report.
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