Officials move to sell county lockup amid fears of new immigrant jail
A New Jersey resident speaks to the Union County Board of Commissioners on March 27, 2025, about their plan to sell the county's jail. (Sophie Nieto-Munoz | New Jersey Monitor)
ELIZABETH — The Union County Board of Commissioners took an initial step toward selling the county jail on Thursday, with critics who fear the facility will become a privately run migrant detention center chanting, 'Shame, shame!' after the board's vote.
The nine-member board approved by a 6-3 vote two resolutions — one that allows the county to subdivide public property that includes the jail and another that allows the county to consider proposals to sell the unused jail.
'I sit alongside our immigrant community, work alongside each one of you,' said Commissioner Sergio Granados. 'With the possibility of a detention center being there, I must vote no on these two items.'
Commissioner Michèle Delisfort and Chairwoman Lourdes Leon also voted against the measures after immigrant activists and other members of the public spent nearly two hours urging the board to either oppose selling the jail or commit to not turning it into a migrant detention center.
Thursday's vote comes as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
Brian Lozano of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey told commissioners that soliciting bids for the jail without meaningful input from residents undermines 'the fundamental principle that governments must answer to their constituents and operate transparently.'
'Institutions that detain and deport immigrants only serve to terrorize these communities, and ultimately under this administration, to hold their family members, everyday people, and increasingly political protestors in violation of the United States Constitution,' he said.
Elizabeth resident Giovanna Castaneda said she used to sit in school fearing that she'd come home to her mom being deported. Castaneda told commissioners to pay attention to other problems plaguing the city — homelessness, a lack of affordable housing, food scarcity — rather than adding another one.
'This could be one of the largest detention centers in the northeast, along with Delaney Hall in Newark, along with Elizabeth Detention Center, which is only two miles away from where we are right now. These sites are designed to deliver profit, not justice,' said Viri Martinez of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. 'It's a system that has no regard for the lives it destroys.'
The meeting turned tense at several moments. The police approached people who went past their allotted speaking time, while audience members shouted from the crowd when the board cut the microphone. The room also quickly filled to capacity, leaving nearly 100 people — including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka — outside the county administration building.
'Our fight here is a fight for humanity, a fight for all people, a fight for dignity and respect, a fight for all human beings, whether you're documented or not,' Baraka said.
The county did not commit to selling the jail to a private prison company, though immigrant advocates fear that is what will happen. Commissioner Rebecca Williams said she hopes the county will get bids from entities hoping to use the former jail for mental health facilities, workforce development, or college classes.
'As the very first stage to see what interest there is, I am in favor of that,' William said. 'But again, as I said, everyone who knows me and who follows me knows exactly how I feel about what's happening broadly in terms of people being disappeared, people being detained without due process.'
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