NEWARK, NJ – New Jersey’s Democrat lawmakers are upset over a plan to expand the state’s illegal alien detention facility expansion in Newark. The facility, deemed necessary by the Department of Homeland Security during its nationwide sweep of criminal illegal aliens is being opposed by the party’s far-left contingent in New Jersey, who want to preserve New Jersey’s status as a sanctuary state.
A coalition of New Jersey lawmakers is challenging reported efforts to expand private immigration detention centers in the state, raising concerns about the potential impact on immigrant communities. Representatives LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Rob Menendez (NJ-08), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) have joined forces with Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, as well as Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ-06), and Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), to demand transparency from federal officials regarding these plans.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Caleb Vitello, the lawmakers are seeking details on reports that ICE is considering expanding the Elizabeth Detention Center and contracting for a new 600-bed facility in the Newark area.
The letter underscores their opposition to the use of private detention centers and questions the necessity of increasing detention capacity in the state.
“The potential openings of privately owned detention facilities in Newark and Trenton are deeply disturbing,” said Congresswoman McIver. “New Jersey is the proud home to more than two million immigrants [and hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens] across the state, and we are demanding answers about ICE actions in our community. We will not sit idly by as Trump’s policies harass and harm our neighbors, and we will not stop holding ICE and this administration to account.”
Congressman Menendez reaffirmed his opposition to private detention centers, particularly the Elizabeth Detention Center, which has been a point of controversy in recent years.
“We have consistently spoken up for immigrants and the vital role they play in our communities. That advocacy will continue in light of the renewed attacks on them,” he said. “We have long said that private detention centers like the one in Elizabeth run counter to the values of our district, and we will remain steadfast in our work to prevent their expansion. And while we remain ready to engage on any opportunity to implement common sense solutions to our broken immigration system, we will continue to conduct rigorous oversight over the aspects of this system that are harming immigrant families.”
Watson Coleman emphasized the broader implications of private immigration detention, arguing that for-profit detention facilities undermine public confidence in the justice system.
“Instead of working with Democrats to build a fair and safe immigration process, the Trump administration has instead leaned into chaos, confusion, and cruelty,” she said. “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.”
New Jersey has taken steps in recent years to phase out the use of private immigration detention facilities, including a state law prohibiting new ICE contracts with private operators. The lawmakers argue that any new expansion would contradict the state’s commitment to more humane immigration policies.