CoreCivic Sues New Jersey Over Ban On Prison Contracts: Report

NEW JERSEY — The world’s largest private prison corporation is trying to overturn New Jersey’s ban on prison contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a report says.

CoreCivic runs jails across the nation, including the Elizabeth Detention Center in Union County, which is located just south of Newark Airport. The company has filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that a landmark law signed in New Jersey two years ago is unconstitutional under the supremacy clause, the New Jersey Monitor reported Tuesday.

That law – which got a green light from Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021 – bans prisons in the state from making deals to hold ICE immigration detainees. Prisons are not able to make new contracts with ICE, or expand/renew old agreements. The law didn’t terminate existing contracts with ICE, however, including CoreCivic’s deal at the Elizabeth Detention Center, which is the only one remaining in New Jersey.

The ICE contract at the Elizabeth Detention Center was extended shortly before the law went into effect. It is slated to end later this summer.

The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ), the state’s largest immigration coalition, rallied behind the law.

“New Jersey fought for this bill to become law and we will fight to defend it,” NJAIJ executive director Amy Torres said. “Corporations, especially ones like CoreCivic, shouldn’t get to bend and break the rules simply because they can’t profit from them.”

New Jersey is no stranger to legal challenges to its laws that empower and protect immigrants, said Erik Cruz Morales, a policy and advocacy manager with the group.

Morales referenced the state attorney general’s 2018 “Immigrant Trust Directive,” which limits the types of voluntary assistance that New Jersey’s law enforcement officers can provide to federal immigration authorities.

“This directive was also subject to a lengthy legal battle, which, joined by the support of advocates and community partners, was successfully won and remains law today,” Morales said.

• See Related: Outrage, Lawsuit In NJ After ICE Transfers 30 Immigrant Detainees
• See Related: ICE Detainees In NJ Should Be Released, Not Transferred: Senators
• See Related: Deportation Battle Continues For ICE Detainee Transferred Out Of NJ

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