New Jersey Clergy Decry Ruling On ICE Ban: ‘Souls Are Not Commodities’

NEW JERSEY — Several religious leaders in New Jersey are decrying a recent court decision that may enable one of the world’s largest private prison companies to continue profiting off contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – despite a state law banning the practice.

Two years ago, New Jersey passed a landmark law that bans prisons from making deals to hold immigration detainees awaiting deportation. Now, that law may have lost some of its teeth after a federal judge struck down a key portion of it – and activists are hitting the streets to voice their outrage. Read More: Only 1 NJ Jail Still Profits From ICE Contracts – It May Stay That Way

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 has a unique distinction these days: it’s the only facility in New Jersey that is still making a profit by housing federal detainees for ICE.

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.

ICE awarded CoreCivic its initial contract to operate the Elizabeth Detention Center in 2005 for a three-year period, and renewed the contract five times. The current contract – which was slated to expire on Aug. 31 – can now potentially be renewed again.

CoreCivic has filed a lawsuit that alleges the ban is unconstitutional. Meanwhile, 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.

“The result of any one of New Jersey's neighboring states passing a comparable law — let alone an ensuing domino effect to other states — would result in nothing short of chaos,” Kirsch wrote.

‘MORALLY REPREHENSIBLE’

Many local civil rights activists – including Faith in New Jersey – have argued otherwise.

On Wednesday, the “multi-faith multi-racial” nonprofit coalition released a statement that blasts this week’s court decision, which New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said the state will appeal.

“In this recent ruling, Judge Kirsch called the ban a “dagger aimed at the heart” of federal immigration enforcement,” the group wrote. “It is ironic that Judge Kirsch describes the ban against federal immigration enforcement in humanistic terms while ignoring the actual humanity of the families being destroyed by these detention centers.”

“Additionally, it is morally reprehensible that President Joe Biden has chosen to stand in support of CoreCivic despite his campaign promise to close private prisons,” Faith in New Jersey stated.

“The souls of our neighbors are not commodities,” the group added. “We applaud the attorney general’s plan to appeal this ruling and will continue to organize in support of our immigrant brethren.”

Faith in New Jersey shared statements from three different religious leaders – each from the viewpoint of a different faith – which can be seen below.

Rev. Carmine Pernini, Zion Lutheran Church of Rahway – “As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I cannot comprehend how a person's humanity is all but eradicated when it comes to detention, especially for-profit detention centers. Either a person is a child of God or they are not and borders and status do not confer God given dignity nor can they erase it. Whether a person supports or opposes detention in general is creedal and speaks to their commitment, or lack thereof, to Christ's call to welcome the stranger. People of faith should be united against all forms of dehumanization, especially for-profit detention centers.”

Rabbi Joel Abraham, Temple Sholom of Scotch Plains – “Judaism does not have a tradition of incarceration, rather a commandment to free the imprisoned. We are to remember what it is like to be a stranger, because we have been strangers throughout our history. It is reprehensible to make money off the incarceration of human beings, as CoreCivic does. It is our obligation to welcome the stranger, not imprison them. We, as New Jerseyans, have declared through our democratic processes that we will not be complicit in the detention of loved ones. This federal judge should not force our hands to be stained with the blood of our neighbors.”

Imam Saffet Catovic, director of United Nations Operations for Justice For All – “In Islam’s teachings the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity, honoring and protecting the divinely infused dignity of the human person, through protecting their basic human rights and freedoms, is paramount. The carceral state, devised by men and especially the private prison for profit system, is one which robs human beings of these rights and oppresses them. As study after study has shown, the management of the incarceration of human beings for profit oppresses people and conflicts with safety protocols, humane treatment, and rehabilitation programs. The Prophet Muhammed ordered the believers in no uncertain terms, ‘Secure the release of the prisoners!’ In keeping with this prophetic directive, Islamic scholars and jurists have long held that it is a religious duty and moral obligation for people to work to free the prisoners with all their power and all that they possess, including money and therefore, the opposite, namely the funding of such institutions of oppression, needs to be ended.”

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