235 Undocumented Immigrants At Mexico Border Sent To NJ, NY

Federal officials have transferred 235 undocumented immigrants detained at the U.S.-Mexican border to New Jersey and New York now that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been encountering a "surge" in arrivals.

ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in the New Jersey area received 235 individual cases who will be detained locally pending immigration proceedings, said spokesperson Rachael Yong Yow.

Facilities and jails in Elizabeth and Monmouth, Bergen, Hudson and Essex counties have been holding immigration detainees, and New York cases are sent to Bergen and Hudson county jails.

Yong Yow said ICE is "committed to the health and safety of all those in its custody."

In response to a surge in border arrivals that began late last year, ICE began using the New Jersey and New York area correctional facilities in May 2019 to temporarily hold people encountered at the southern border who were awaiting adjudication of their cases before the federal immigration courts.

Because of federal privacy laws regarding the nature of claims, ICE is "limited in its ability to discuss case specifics of persons housed at this location,” she said.

Everyone arrested by ICE is evaluated for a custody determination on a case-by-case basis based upon the totality of their specific circumstances, officials said.

Undocumented immigrants placed into removal proceedings receive all appropriate legal process before the federal immigration courts, ICE officials. Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, they say.