Court Ruling To Keep NJ ICE Center Open Disappointing: Watson Coleman

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) said she was "deeply disappointed” by a U.S. District Court’s decision to keep a New Jersey immigrant detention center open.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch granted a preliminary injunction in favor of CoreCivic, which runs the Elizabeth Detention Center in Union County.

The prison is the only facility in New Jersey that is still making a profit by housing federal detainees for ICE.

Two years ago, New Jersey passed a landmark law that bans prisons from making deals to hold immigration detainees awaiting deportation.

New Jersey’s ban, which Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law in 2021, prohibits prisons in the state from inking new contracts with ICE or renewing old ones. The law didn’t terminate existing agreements, however, including CoreCivic’s deal to run the Elizabeth Detention Center.

CoreCivic then filed a lawsuit alleging the ban was unconstitutional.

"I'm deeply disappointed with the Court's decision. Its reference to the difficulty of ICE to find a replacement facility in the given time ignores the fact that AB 5207 was passed more than 2 years ago. The ruling's statement that AB 5207's effect would result in periods in which facilities would likely sit below capacity is hardly an argument in favor of extending private prison contracts. The goal of private prisons is to maximize profits. Profits should never be given consideration when it comes to the actions of our justice system and their impact on human lives,” Watson Coleman said in a statement.

"The use of private prisons erodes the public’s faith in the integrity of American sentencing policy, leaving them to wonder if the impetus for lengthy mandatory minimums, or forcibly detaining immigrants, is an evidence-based solution, or just submission to the will of private companies profiting from those incidences of imprisonment. The horrible conditions at the Elizabeth Detention Center further erode the trust the people have in a fair justice system.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has argued that the contract is “crucial” because of the prison’s close proximity to Newark and JFK airports – both of which host deportation flights out of the country. Enforcing the state’s ban would close the last remaining facility in New Jersey to which ICE has access, the agency said.

Many faith leaders and civil rights activists have also expressed their disappointment with the ruling.

“I will be appealing to President Biden to fulfill his pledge to end private detention of individuals, a goal of mine since before I ran for Congress," Watson Coleman said.

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