IN NOD TO PRIVATE PRISON COMPANIES, UNION COUNTY COMMISSIONERS EXPLORE BID TO SELL JAIL

Commissioners would not state whether they had spoken to GEO Group nor CoreCivic

ELIZABETH, NJ [03/27/25] -  Following months of rumors, Union County Commissioners will tonight vote on a resolution to advertise and open bids for the sale of 15 Elizabethtown Plaza, part of the Union County Jail complex.

According to the Union County Commissioner Website, Commissioner Mirabella intends to introduce the following for a vote:

“Agenda Item 2025-289 COMMISSIONER ALEXANDER MIRABELLA: Authorizing the County Manager to advertise for and consider bids to ascertain the interest in possible purchase of property owned by the County of Union known as 15 Elizabethtown Plaza, Elizabeth, NJ, no longer needed for public use, at public auction pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12-13 et seq”

The news comes as ICE detention rapidly expands across New Jersey and the region. While the agenda item does not suggest the building would be used explicitly for detention, the 10-story building has a capacity for 1,000+ beds and would take considerably costly renovations to convert. The Department of Corrections owns and operates private correctional facilities within the state, leaving few options for bidders other than private prison corporations that seek to contract with the federal government.

In 2021, New Jersey passed a ban barring public and private entities from contracting with the federal government for immigration detention. A 2023 challenge struck down the private provision of that ban, a case that will be heard later in April. The public provision still stands, barring counties like Union from openly contracting with ICE. The ban prohibits the sale of property to the federal government or other private entities for the use of immigration detention.

NJAIJ, the state’s largest immigration coalition, is ringing the alarm against the potential bid and sale. Earlier this year, it was announced that Delaney Hall, a private facility in Newark, will open its 1,200 beds for immigration detention, an estimated value of $1 billion. In private conversations, city officials refused to state whether they had spoken to the two private prison companies operating ICE jails in New Jersey, CoreCivic and Geo Group. Like Newark and Essex County, the City of Elizabeth is an immigrant-rich corridor of the state, where 32.7% of the population is foreign-born. 

ICE arrests and detention numbers have skyrocketed since the Trump Administration returned to office, with stories of unconstitutional arrests, due process questions, and civil liberties violations regularly grabbing national headlines. NJAIJ and its members are mobilizing tonight at 5:00 p.m. to participate in the Union County Commissioner public meeting.