Biden administration officials want to keep detaining immigrants at a notorious privately run jail in New Jersey — the only immigration detention center within 60 miles of New York City — despite a state law banning such facilities.
Two years ago, New Jersey legislators responded to concerns about federal immigration policies and local jail conditions by passing a law that effectively prevents CoreCivic, the company that runs the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility, from renewing its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Now, in a 51-page statement filed in federal court this week, the Department of Justice is arguing that that law infringes on the federal government’s responsibility to regulate immigration and jail immigrants.
CoreCivic has already sued Gov. Phil Murphy, who signed the law banning public and private ICE facilities. The government’s filing, signed in part by U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Sellinger, was made in support of that lawsuit. CoreCivic and ICE are seeking to extend their contract past its expiration date Aug. 31, which as of now would be illegal, so they are asking the court for an injunction.
The federal government’s filing argues that closing the facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, could result in the “release of certain dangerous noncitizens, frequent and costly transport of detainees, the isolation of detainees at great distance from families, and the obstruction of federal proceedings.”
The federal government called the Elizabeth facility “mission critical,” particularly since its proximity to international airports allows it to “effect removals.”
The windowless detention center in an industrial neighborhood is a former warehouse that now holds 221 people, according to ICE. Detainees have long complained about problematic conditions, including birds inside that defecate on beds, abuse from staff, and a lack of sanitary pads. The facility is set up like a dormitory, with one bathroom for every 40…
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