US court blocks New Jersey ban on immigrant detention in CoreCivic lawsuit
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said New Jersey cannot ban the detention of immigrants awaiting deportation within its borders, agreeing with private prison operator CoreCivic (NYSE:CXW) that it "destroys the federal government’s marketplace" for detention facilities crucial to immigration enforcement, News.az reports citing Xinhua.
The 2-1 ruling by the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a judge’s decision in favor of CoreCivic, which operates about 70 U.S. detention centers nationwide. CoreCivic sued New Jersey after it passed a law in 2021 that threatened the renewal of a contract to operate a 300-bed facility near Newark Liberty International Airport.
Privately run detention centers have come under renewed scrutiny as the administration of Republican President Donald Trump has filled existing centers to capacity amid an aggressive immigration enforcement campaign.
The administration has restricted members of Congress and other officials from touring the facilities, where advocates say conditions can be cramped and inhumane.
The 3rd Circuit on Tuesday said New Jersey’s law barring new contracts to operate immigrant detention centers violates the U.S. Constitution by interfering with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws.
"Just as the federal government cannot control a state, so too a state cannot control the federal government," Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, wrote for the court.
Bibas was joined by Circuit Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama. Circuit Judge Thomas Ambro, who was appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said in dissent that New Jersey’s law only directly regulates the state, local governments and private companies.
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