Overview

• The 2-1 ruling upholds a lower court’s finding that the 2021 law violates the Supremacy Clause by blocking ICE from contracting with private detention facilities.
• Judge Stephanos Bibas authored the majority opinion joined by Cheryl Ann Krause, with Thomas Ambro dissenting on grounds the law does not target federal operations.
• The Justice Department under Presidents Trump and Biden intervened to support CoreCivic, arguing the ban undermines the federal government’s detention capacity.
• New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin criticized the decision for endangering detainee health and safety and said his office will assess an appeal.
• Legal analysts warn the outcome could influence similar sanctuary measures in other states that seek to limit federal immigration enforcement through local statutes.