Officials move to sell county lockup amid fears of new immigrant jail
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.'
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
24 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Trump
NEW YORK — An appeals court has thrown out the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling Thursday in New York state's lawsuit accusing him of exaggerating his wealth. The decision came seven months after the Republican returned to the White House. A panel of five judges in New York's mid-level Appellate Division said the verdict, which stood to cost Trump more than $515 million and rock his real estate empire, was 'excessive.' After finding that Trump engaged in fraud by flagrantly padding financial statements that went to lenders and insurers, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him last year to pay $355 million in penalties. With interest, the sum has topped $515 million. The total — combined with penalties levied on some other Trump Organization executives, including Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. — now exceeds $527 million, with interest. 'While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants' business culture, the court's disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,' Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of several opinions shaping the appeals court's ruling. Engoron also imposed other punishments, such as banning Trump and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years. Those provisions have been on pause during Trump's appeal, and he was able to hold off collection of the money by posting a $175 million bond. The court, which was split on the merits of the lawsuit and the lower court's fraud finding, dismissed the penalty Engoron imposed in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for further appeals to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. The appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state's trial court, took an unusually long time to rule, weighing Trump's appeal for nearly 11 months after oral arguments last fall. Normally, appeals are decided in a matter of weeks or a few months. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the suit on the state's behalf, has said the businessman-turned-politician engaged in 'lying, cheating, and staggering fraud.' Her office had no immediate comment after Thursday's decision. Trump and his co-defendants denied wrongdoing. In a six-minute summation of sorts after a monthslong trial, Trump proclaimed in January 2024 that he was 'an innocent man' and the case was a 'fraud on me.' He has repeatedly maintained that the case and verdict were political moves by James and Engoron, who are both Democrats. Trump's Justice Department has subpoenaed James for records related to the lawsuit, among other documents, as part of an investigation into whether she violated the president's civil rights. James' personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, has said that investigating the fraud case is 'the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president's political retribution campaign.' Trump and his lawyers said his financial statements weren't deceptive, since they came with disclaimers noting they weren't audited. The defense also noted that bankers and insurers independently evaluated the numbers, and the loans were repaid. Despite such discrepancies as tripling the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, he said the financial statements were, if anything, lowball estimates of his fortune. During an appellate court hearing in September, Trump's lawyers argued that many of the case's allegations were too old, an assertion they made unsuccessfully before trial. The defense also contends that James misused a consumer-protection law to sue Trump and improperly policed private business transactions that were satisfactory to those involved. State attorneys said the law in question applies to fraudulent or illegal business conduct, whether it targets everyday consumers or big corporations. Though Trump insists no one was harmed by the financial statements, the state contends that the numbers led lenders to make riskier loans than they knew, and that honest borrowers lose out when others game their net-worth numbers. The state has argued that the verdict rests on ample evidence and that the scale of the penalty comports with Trump's gains, including his profits on properties financed with the loans and the interest he saved by getting favorable terms offered to wealthy borrowers. The civil fraud case was just one of several legal obstacles for Trump as he campaigned, won and segued to a second term as president. On Jan. 10, he was sentenced in his criminal hush money case to what's known as an unconditional discharge, leaving his conviction on the books but sparing him jail, probation, a fine or other punishment. He is appealing the conviction. And in December, a federal appeals court upheld a jury's finding that Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her, affirming a $5 million judgment against him. The appeals court declined in June to reconsider; he still can try to get the Supreme Court to hear his appeal. He's also appealing a subsequent verdict that requires him to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamation claims. Peltz and Sisak write for the Associated Press.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Hoboken won't ‘bend its knee' to Trump admin demand on sanctuary policy, mayor says
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla said the city will only revise its 2018 sanctuary city order to strengthen protections for immigrants. (Danielle Richards for New Jersey Monitor) Hoboken is rejecting a call by the Trump administration to rescind its sanctuary policy for undocumented immigrants, saying the White House's position on this is 'egregious' and 'distressing.' The move comes a week after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told states, counties, and towns nationwide that their sanctuary policies 'thwart federal immigration enforcement' and threatened officials who support them with criminal charges. The letter came amid a push by President Donald Trump to detain and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. 'As the nation witnesses the tearing apart of families, inhumane treatment of human beings, and unlawful detention of children, Hoboken will not bend its knee in response to the lawlessness of federal immigration authorities,' Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla wrote Tuesday in response to the Aug. 13 letter from Bondi. The Department of Justice published a list two weeks ago of jurisdictions nationwide that have passed sanctuary laws and threatened to bring litigation against them. Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson are on the list (all four were already being sued in federal court by the Trump administration over these policies). At least three of them received Bondi's Aug. 13 letter, which ordered them to end their sanctuary policies and gave them until Tuesday to confirm in writing their 'commitment to complying with federal law' and identify any initiatives they are undertaking to eliminate laws and policies that impede immigration enforcement. 'For too long, so-called sanctuary jurisdiction policies have undermined this necessary cooperation and obstructed federal immigration enforcement, giving aliens cover to perpetrate crimes in our communities and evade the immigration consequences that federal law requires,' Bondi wrote. The Trump administration has moved to slash federal funds and grants to jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate. On Monday, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin joined a lawsuit filed by states alleging the administration is improperly blocking federal grants intended for victims and witnesses of crime because of the states' sanctuary policies. Since Trump took office in January for his second term and promised to crack down on illegal immigration, immigration arrests have doubled, and the number of people in detention has skyrocketed. Bhalla, a Democrat who became Hoboken's mayor in 2018, issued an executive order then that restricts when city officials and police can cooperate with federal immigration agents, an order known as the 'fair and welcoming city' designation. Bhalla said the Trump administration's claims about it are 'completely false and without merit.' 'We will not capitulate to your demand that we rescind our policies, and in this case our morals and values,' wrote Bhalla, who is seeking a state Assembly seat in November. The city will revise the policies if needed, he added, but only to ensure Hoboken residents are not subjected to unlawful immigration enforcement. Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson officials did not respond to requests for comment. Other cities around the country had a similar message for Bondi as Bhalla. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said his state 'will not be bullied' and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the city would 'never back down.' The debate over illegal immigration has roiled New Jersey. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-10) is facing assault charges over accusations that she assaulted officers while they were arresting Newark Mayor Ras Baraka in May. Detainees rioted over poor conditions at Newark's Delaney Hall, the first immigration detention center to open during Trump's second term. Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba has said she is investigating Gov. Phil Murphy and Platkin over the state's sanctuary order, called the Immigrant Trust Directive. And the White House has placed the blame for a fatal drunken driving crash in Lakewood last month — authorities say an undocumented immigrant is responsible — on Murphy, who supports the state directive. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Yahoo
Los Angeles joining federal lawsuit against immigration raids
Los Angeles leaders said Tuesday the city would join a lawsuit against the Trump administration over immigration raids in the local area. The city will join the American Civil Liberties Union in suing the federal government, alleging officials are using 'unlawful tactics to achieve its intended arrest numbers.' 'The federal government has concentrated thousands of armed immigration agents, many of whom lack visible identification, and military troops in our communities, conducting unconstitutional raids, roundups and anonymous detentions, sowing fear and chaos among our residents,' Hydee Feldstein Soto, city attorney of Los Angeles, said in a Tuesday release. 'Today's motion to intervene shows we will not stand by and allow these raids to continue or to become the standard operating procedure in our communities.' Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied the allegations. 'DHS enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence,' McLaughlin told The Hill, denying that arrests are not made based off of the color of someone's skin. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have both railed against the president's decision to send National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles last month in an effort to quell protests against immigration policies. 'I have said that I think this is an experiment. I think LA is a petri dish, and they are essentially pressing the envelope to see how far the American public will tolerate the federal seizure of power from a governor and in this random thing is just a way of creating a sense of … terror and fate and fear in our community,' Bass said during a Tuesday press conference. 'It is having profound economic impact. It is obviously impacting and traumatizing families, and it is to serve a political agenda, none of which has anything positive to do with our city,' she added. Groups gathered for multiple days to share outrage over recent immigration raids that resulted in the arrests of dozens, but Bass said they were inaccurately characterized. ''Riots' that were reported never happened. We did have a couple of incidences of vandalism and looting, but the way it was portrayed nationally was like the whole city was up in flames,' Bass told reporters. She criticized comparisons to the 1992 LA riots following the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King, saying they were 'completely and 100 percent inappropriate.' Mayors from the surrounding area joined Bass on Tuesday to call out the Trump administration for an alleged violation of residents' constitutional rights. 'The lawsuit seeks to hold federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, accountable for policies and practices that violate the Fourth and Tenth amendments of the United States Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act,' Montbello Mayor Salvador Menendez said at the press conference. 'And let me be clear, we cannot allow families to be torn apart without due process, and we cannot stand silent while the constitutional rights of our residents are trampled,' he added. Updated at 5:30 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
