Watson Coleman Leads Letter Asking DOJ To Rescind Support For CoreCivic Suit

PRINCETON, NJ – Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) along with nine other members for the New Jersey delegation sent a letter o U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, uging the Department of Justice to rescind support for CoreCivic in its lawsuit.

CoreCivic, a private prison company has filed a lawsuit against New Jersey to overturn the 2021 law which bans the state from making deals to hold ICE immigration detainees. Under the law, prisons will not able to make new contracts with ICE, or expand/renew old agreements.

CoreCivic runs jails across the nation, including the Elizabeth Detention Center in Union County, located just south of Newark Airport.

The letter submitted by the New Jersey delegation requests that the “DOJ rescind its statement of interest in the CoreCivic Lawsuit and stand with the citizens of New Jersey.”

The letter was signed by Senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez and Representatives Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Rob Menendez, Jr. (NJ-08), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Andy Kim (NJ-03), and Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11).

“The people of New Jersey believe in respecting the basic human rights of all people. For-profit prison companies have repeatedly shown that they cannot or will not respect the basic human rights of undocumented immigrants,” Watson Coleman said in a statement.

“New Jerseyans were horrified by the mistreatment of immigrants during the Trump administration including in our own backyard at the Elizabeth Detention Center and New Jersey has taken the necessary steps to end this cycle of mistreatment. The actions taken by the New Jersey legislature and Governor Murphy align with President Biden’s vow to end the federal government’s use of for-profit prisons for the detainment of noncitizens. The Department of Justice should not be siding with a company that cannot guarantee basic standards of care.”

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill in August 2021, with an aim to end use of private immigration detention facilities in the state.

In their letter, the lawmakers said: “This legislation answered the call of local communities, concerned citizens, and advocacy groups that promote the interests of New Jerseyans over for-profit prison companies to permanently close the Elizabeth Detention Center (EDC), a facility with a history of poor sanitation, crumbling infrastructure, and complaints of physical and verbal abuse.”

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