Advocates Decry Court Decision In NJ’s Immigrant Detention Fight

Immigrant rights advocates and impacted families are sounding the alarm after a pivotal court decision will allow privately run immigrant detention centers to continue operating in New Jersey.

The decision endangers vulnerable communities and fuels the trauma of family separations across the state, advocates say.

“Allowing corporations like CoreCivic and GeoGroup—just miles away from two international airports—to operate with impunity, with little transparency or accountability, this decision makes New Jersey the epicenter of family separation, kidnapping, and the disappearance of our loved ones, and continues to destabilize our communities,” said Nedia Morsy of Make the Road New Jersey.

“We will continue to organize, fight, and demand the end of New Jersey’s entanglement with private detention once and for all. We will continue to fight until all of our people can live free,” Morsy added.

The Legal Backdrop

On Tuesday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held in a 2-1 decision that New Jersey’s ban on federal detention contracts unlawfully regulated the federal government, finding that “banning contracts that only the federal government can make” impinges on federal authority while New Jersey argued otherwise.

“If we accepted New Jersey’s logic, consider what else states might be able to do,” wrote Judge Stephanos Bibas, who was appointed to his seat by President Donald Trump during his first term.

The legal battle traces back to a 2021 New Jersey law banning all immigrant detention centers in the state. CoreCivic, the private prison company operating the Elizabeth Detention Center, sued New Jersey in 2023 after the law prevented the company from renewing its federal contract.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kirsch later ruled that private prison companies could continue operating, prompting New Jersey to appeal. As the appeals process dragged on, GeoGroup filed its own complaint last year so it could continue running Delaney Hall, which became the first facility to open under the second Trump administration.

Tensions Escalate

The fight over private detention escalated in May, when ICE officials arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) as he attempted an oversight visit at Delaney Hall. Those charges were later dropped, but interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba is now pursuing assault and interference charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-10th) related to that day.

Families and legal advocates had reported tremendous difficulty locating and supporting loved ones inside these detention centers, citing a lack of accountability and reliable tracking through the federal system. Many say that recent expansions have only heightened their fears, given private detention centers’ histories of neglect and abuse nationwide.

Those concerns were underscored by stories shared with advocates, including reports from Delaney Hall Detention Center of people detained for nearly 20 hours last month without food, even though a Geo Group spokesperson said in a statement that the company remains “dedicated to providing high-quality services to those in our care, including around-the-clock access to medical care.”

The rapid expansion of Delaney Hall has almost quadrupled New Jersey’s capacity to detain immigrants, which advocates argue makes it even harder for families and lawyers to stay connected.

State Attorney General Matthew Platkin condemned the court ruling, citing concerns over these recent events at Delaney Hall.

“[Entrusting] detention to for-profit companies poses grave risks to health and safety, and as the dissenting judge noted, States retain broad latitude to protect the health and safety of people within their borders,” Platkin said.

Ongoing Advocacy

Advocates and families argue that this ruling puts New Jersey at the center of a broader national battle over immigrant rights and government accountability. Their fears are rooted in the Trump administration’s threats of mass deportations, which led to a sharp increase in immigrant detention nationwide.

The organizing and resistance will not stop, they said.

“We never needed detention centers. They don’t contribute to our communities. The existence of these facilities are a reflection of this country’s history to criminalize immigrant workers,” Movimiento Cosecha said in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “We are not backing down, this is federal overreach. New Jersey deserves a better future.”