In light of recent reporting on Union County’s plan to sell its shuttered county jail — a move that immigrant rights advocates warn could pave the way for a return to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in New Jersey — New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) urges county officials to proceed with transparency, caution, and a firm commitment to human rights.
“New Jersey has come too far to turn back the clock on immigrant justice,” said Nicole Rodriguez, President of New Jersey Policy Perspective. “After years of community organizing and policy wins that severed county ties with ICE, it would be a profound betrayal for any county to welcome back immigrant detention through the back door. We need clear, enforceable safeguards in the sale of the jail to ensure that it can’t be used for immigration detention or profiteering off incarceration.”
Under the first Trump administration, counties like Bergen, Essex, and Hudson profited from contracts with ICE, detaining immigrants in local jails. These decisions were met with fierce opposition from communities and advocates, ultimately leading all three counties to end those contracts by 2021. But with the Trump Administration reinstating mass deportation policies, the risk of rekindling ICE ties is real, especially if infrastructure like the Union County jail is made available to private prison profiteers.
“In this political moment, pretending a former jail won’t be marketed as a detention center is dangerously naïve,” said Marleina Ubel, Senior Policy Analyst at NJPP. “Private prison companies and ICE are actively scouting for detention space. County officials must take active steps to prevent the reestablishment of immigrant detention in our state — not passively hope for a better outcome.”
New Jersey is home to more than 2 million immigrants, who contribute to every facet of our communities and economy. Local governments should invest in programs that expand opportunity and public safety — including legal defense funds, community-based services, and affordable housing — not fueling the incarceration-to-deportation pipeline.
New Jersey’s values — and our laws — demand better. We must not allow the specter of mass deportation to once again warp our public institutions into tools of trauma and family separation.
