New Jersey does not have the authority to prohibit private prison companies from housing illegal immigrants on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on July 22.
In August 2021, New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill 5207, which bans state and local entities, as well as private detention facilities, from entering into agreements to detain illegal immigrants. In February 2023, CoreCivic, which operates private correctional and detention facilities across the United States, sued New Jersey officials, including Murphy.
AB 5207 prohibits CoreCivic from renewing a contract with ICE under which the company manages and operates the Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, which represents “essentially the entire immigration detention capacity for the Federal Government in New Jersey,” the lawsuit said….