Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) voiced her opposition to plans for a North Jersey Immigration and Customs detention facility in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday.
“DHS’s treatment of human beings – citizen and non-citizen alike – reflects a chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law. New Jersey will not be complicit in this,” Sherrill wrote.
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New Jersey residents in Roxbury Township learned of DHS’s plans to build an ICE detention facility in the community for illegal immigrants last week, when news broke that DHS purchased a warehouse in the township. Local officials in Roxbury confirmed the purchase last Friday and said they would not “passively accept this outcome,” vowing to “pursue all available legal remedies,” according to the New Jersey Monitor.
ICE currently has illegal immigrant detention facilities in Elizabeth and Newark, New Jersey.
Sherrill blasted as “inexcusable” what she called DHS’s “lack of communication and transparency with Roxbury” regarding the 470,000-square-foot facility.
“The people of Roxbury deserve better than to learn of a plan to place an immigration detention facility in their community through a newspaper article,” Sherrill wrote.
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In addition to criticizing DHS’s transparency, the New Jersey governor raised concerns about the size of the project and the fact that it “would also siphon away” the economic opportunity of a warehouse of that size. She also raised ethics concerns, saying she is “gravely concerned about ICE’s treatment of the individuals in its custody.”
“New Jersey will assess all options to protect the community’s infrastructure, public safety, health, and long-term economic stability,” Sherrill said, vowing to ensure DHS complies with “all applicable laws” at the facility. “If DHS fails to do so, New Jersey will not hesitate to protect the interests of Roxbury residents and our communities using every tool at our disposal.”
The Washington Examiner has reached out to DHS and ICE for comment.
Noem posted on X Friday morning, writing, “Nothing will stop us from making America SAFE again.”
“Under the leadership of President Trump, DHS is delivering the most secure border in history, removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens, and making our communities safer for generations to come,” Noem wrote.
This is Sherrill’s latest immigration related clash with the federal government, as the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against her administration on Monday over her plan to bar federal immigration officers from certain state property without judicial warrants.
“The State of New Jersey has adopted this policy with the clear objective of obstructing President Trump from enforcing federal immigration law,” the lawsuit reads.
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Several state and local officials have pushed back on DHS’s plans to build detention facilities in their localities. On Wednesday, Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) successfully lobbied DHS against its plans for a facility in New Hampshire.
The push comes as part of a wider Democratic movement to curb the federal government from converting large abandoned warehouses into detention facilities for illegal immigrants.
