The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has declared New Jersey's AB 5207, a law banning private detention contracts within the state, unconstitutional. The law, enacted in 2021 and known as New Jersey’s anti-detention law, aimed to protect residents from health and safety risks associated with detention facilities.
AB 5207 prohibited new private immigration detention contracts and agreements to detain people for ICE. However, the court's decision affects only the prohibition on private detention contracts.
The ACLU of New Jersey, alongside Gibbons P.C., filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the state's stance that AB 5207 was a justified response to harms caused by immigration detention in New Jersey.
ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Molly Linhorst commented on the ruling: “Today’s ruling by the Third Circuit is a devastating blow to immigrant communities in the Garden State. For years, communities across the state have advocated for New Jersey to exercise its traditional power to safeguard the health and safety of its residents and to address dangerous detention facilities within its borders. It has been widely proven that private immigration detention facilities are rampant with abuse, dangerous conditions, and medical neglect, presenting a critical threat to public health. We will continue to support state legislation that lawfully employs the state’s power to prevent the harm and trauma of immigration detention and urge our lawmakers to advance policies that affirm our state’s commitment to the safety and wellbeing of immigrant communities.”
