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| VALUES ACT | LANGUAGE ACCESS | DATA DISAGGREGATION |
Michelle Ancil
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June 29, 2023
Biden Administration Sides With Private Prison Company CoreCivic to Keep Immigrant Detention in New Jersey
Over 50 state, local, and national groups call on officials to protect New Jersey residents and shut down the Elizabeth Detention Center (EDC)
New Jersey, USA - This week, the Biden administration is expected to file an amicus brief joining private prison company CoreCivic in its attempt to keep an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison open in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Elizabeth Detention Center, a converted warehouse with nearly 30 years of documented abuse, is approaching its contract expiration with ICE on August 31, 2023, and is barred from renewing its contract under a New Jersey state law signed by Governor Murphy almost two years ago.
Biden Administration Sides With Private Prison Company CoreCivic to Keep Immigrant Detention in New Jersey
Over 40 local groups call on Governor Murphy and state officials to protect New Jersey residents and shut down the Elizabeth Detention Center (EDC)
New Jersey, USA - This week, the Biden administration is expected to file an amicus brief joining private prison company CoreCivic in its attempt to keep an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison open in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Elizabeth Detention Center, a converted warehouse with nearly 30 years of documented abuse, is approaching its contract expiration with ICE on August 31, 2023, and is barred from renewing its contract under a New Jersey state law signed by Governor Murphy almost two years ago.
This move follows a similar Biden administration strategy in California, where the administration fought to prevent a private prison ban from taking effect.
A united coalition of New Jersey groups, calling on Governor Murphy and local, state, and federal officials to defend their residents, offered the following statement:
“The Biden Administration’s decision to side with CoreCivic, the world’s largest private prison company, is bitterly disappointing but unsurprising. New Jersey is no stranger to the uphill battle it will take to remove ICE’s abusive presence from our communities, nor the megacorporations who seek to profit off of our communities’ misery. We are proud of our history of resistance that ended ICE contracts with local counties across the state. We will continue our pressure to ensure that the Elizabeth Detention Center is closed permanently, that all people are freed, and that the building is never used to warehouse people for any purpose again.
We are in a critical moment. With a little over a month left until the contract expires, the local and state elected officials who once condemned the EDC under previous administrations must step up and condemn it today. We want to remind them of the tremendous suffering and resistance to the Elizabeth Detention Center since it opened nearly 30 years ago. Tens of thousands of people, inside and outside the prison, have protested the inhumane conditions, and at least two people, Boubacar Bah and Victor Ramirez-Reyes, have tragically died due to their detention there.
We will continue to demand action and honor the lives destroyed by US immigration policy. We urge communities across New Jersey to join our fight to end the unnecessary, inhumane, and abuse-riddled practice of immigration detention.
We urge Governor Murphy and all elected officials to provide a prompt and public response to rebuke the Biden administration's attempt to undermine New Jersey values.”
Signed:
AAPI Montclair
American Friends Service Committee
American Muslims for Palestine - NJ
ANSWER Coalition
Bend the Arc Jewish Action: South Jersey
Black Lives Matter Paterson
Council for American Islamic Relations - New Jersey
Casa Freehold
Communist Workers League
Cosecha NJ
Detention Watch Network
Democratic Socialists of America - Essex County
Democratic Socialists of America - North New Jersey
Fair Share Housing Center
Families For Freedom
Faith in New Jersey
First Friends of New Jersey & New York
FAITH+WORKS UU Congregation of Orange
Haiti Solidarity Network of the Northeast
Indivisible Brooklyn
International Defenders Council
Latino Action Network Foundation
Laundry Workers Center
Make the Road New Jersey
Minkwon Community Action Center
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National Domestic Workers Alliance
New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children
New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence
New Jersey Forum for Human Rights
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
New Jersey Policy Perspective
Northern New Jersey NOW
Northern New Jersey Sanctuary Coalition
Occupy Bergen County
Our Revolution New Jersey
Palestinian American Community Center
Pax Christi New Jersey
Riverside Church
Salvation and Social Justice
Shalom Friends Detention Visitation Group
Sojourners Detention Visitation Ministry
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network
Teaneck Peace and Justice Vigil
The Fund for New Jersey
The Interfaith Campaign for Just Closures
The Mami Chelo Foundation
Unidad Latina en Acción NJ
University of Orange
Urban Leagues of Essex County
Urban League of Union County
Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
Working Families Party New Jersey
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Media Contacts:
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Amy Torres, [email protected]
