As ICE eyes new immigrant jail in Newark, activists protest conditions at Elizabeth detention center
ELIZABETH — The recent announcement that a private prison company plans to open a 1,000-bed immigration detention center in Newark has reignited criticism of conditions at the state's other privately run immigrant jail in Elizabeth.
Dozens of protestors from numerous advocacy groups gathered Monday in front of CoreCivic's detention center in this Union County city, where hundreds of migrants are being kept in what advocates say are inhumane conditions.
'They're looking at us not as humans, they're looking at us as dollar signs,' Ana Paola Pazmino, executive director of Resistencia en Acción New Jersey, said in Spanish. 'That's why these detention centers exist, not because they want to get us out of here, but because they want to cage us, detain us, give us bad food and no medical care.'
New Jersey's immigrant community is grappling with the ramped-up immigration efforts under President Donald Trump, who has ordered the mass deportation of the nation's undocumented immigrants. Family members of people recently detained shared stories Monday of confusion surrounding their loved ones' locations.
Fatima Mercedes said her partner was picked up by immigration enforcement officials on his way to work Feb. 7. She knows he was taken to the Elizabeth Detention Center for processing, but each time she calls the detention center, she's told he is not being held there.
'I can't sleep. I don't know what to do. I'm totally desperate,' she said in Spanish before breaking down in tears.
Another woman said her husband has 'disappeared' in the immigration system. She said he's been moved from facility to facility without any notice, and she has no idea where he is, adding the detainees are being treated 'like animals, much worse than criminals.'
During the two-hour rally, bilingual chants of 'No more CoreCivic' and 'No papers, no fear' echoed in the parking lot where activists gathered. One woman led the group in prayer in front of a flag showing the Virgin Mary with her hands tied being taken away by immigration enforcement.
Organizers who visit migrants jailed inside the facility said the conditions are unsafe, and read messages from detainees reporting bad water, dirty uniforms, and no access to medicine or soap.
Andre Burger of Movimiento Cosecha, an organization that visits detainees, said because the Elizabeth Detention Center is used as a processing center, inmates aren't given some items like toothpaste until their third day jailed inside. Detainees who criticize conditions are retaliated against by having their visitation rights or communication access revoked, Burger said.
Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021 signed a law banning immigrant detention, but CoreCivic sued the state to remain open. A federal judge in 2023 sided with the prison company and said the state cannot ban the federal government from contracting with private firms to detain immigrants.
New Jersey officials appealed that decision, but until that appeal is heard and decided, 'New Jersey is forced to allow places like EDC to exist,' said Burger.
Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed that private prison firm Geo Group plans to open a facility in Newark called Delaney Hall as the largest immigration facility on the east coast. The Trump administration touted the new immigrant jail as one that would help facilitate the president's 'mandate to arrest, detain and remove illegal aliens from our communities.' Geo Group's 15-year contract with ICE is worth about $1 billion.
The Newark site may not be the only place ICE will house immigrant detainees in New Jersey. Documents obtained by advocacy groups last year revealed ICE is also looking to open an immigrant jail at the Albert M. 'Bo' Robinson Treatment Center, a 1,000-bed facility in Trenton. President Trump also wants to begin holding undocumented immigrants at military sites like Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
State and local leaders have condemned the move to house immigrants in Newark, but it's unclear whether anyone can stop the building from opening. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka told NJ Spotlight News that Geo Group hasn't taken the proper steps to open the building.
Advocacy groups say they want to see state lawmakers allocate more money to legal representation for undocumented immigrants and deportation defense funds, and to pass the Immigrant Trust Act. That bill would codify a 2018 attorney general's directive banning local police cooperation with federal immigration officials and prohibiting workers in places like public libraries from asking people about their immigration status.
'I think the priority at the state level is to make sure that cops do not share information with ICE, do not hand people over to ICE, and that that is the case with no exceptions,' said Burger.
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