WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Patrick Lechleitner, urging them to reconsider any plans to open a new, privately-operated immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey. This request comes in response to recent court filings indicating that DHS is considering awarding GEO Group a contract to provide immigration detention services at the Delaney Hall Facility in Newark.
“GEO is a for-profit public company that contracts with local, state, and federal government agencies to lease, operate, or manage correctional and detention facilities, in which documented human rights abuses have occurred. I urge you to reconsider any plans to open a new, privately operated immigration detention center in the State of New Jersey,” the Senator wrote.
Booker highlighted the concerning history of documented human rights abuses at GEO-operated facilities, emphasizing the urgent need to uphold New Jersey's stance against private immigration detention centers.
“Reports have shown that people detained in privately-owned and -operated immigration detention centers are often subjected to horrific conditions. At facilities owned and operated by GEO, immigrants routinely report experiencing violence, medical neglect, sexual abuse, malnourishment, poor living conditions, and retaliation when they try to report these abuses,” the Senator continued. “At facilities operated by GEO, the company has been credibly accused of medical neglect, forcing detained people to work, and retaliating against detained people for refusing to work. Another privately-run immigration detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey has subjected detainees to severe lack of access to fresh air or sunlight, consistent medical neglect, cramped and unsanitary living quarters, and abusive treatment from guards and other staff.”
“A new contract would also serve as an insult to immigrant communities and advocates in New Jersey and around the country who have fought tirelessly to document the human rights abuses at private detention centers and repeatedly pushed the Administration to detain fewer people in more humane settings. I urge you to commit to not open new, privately-run immigration detention facilities in New Jersey,” the Senator concluded.
In 2023, Senator Booker introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, which targets the inhumane conditions of detention centers and protects the civil and human rights of immigrants. The legislation would end the use of private prisons and county jails to detain immigrants.
To read the full text of the letter, click here.