Overview
- An appeals court ruled 2-1 that New Jersey’s 2021 law banning ICE detention agreements violates the Constitution’s supremacy clause.
- Judges Stephanos Bibas and Cheryl Ann Krause formed the majority opinion that states cannot regulate federal functions while Judge Thomas Ambro dissented.
- The decision restores CoreCivic’s contract to operate the 300-bed Elizabeth Detention Center near Newark.
- Attorney General Matthew Platkin warned that private detention raises serious health and safety risks for detainees and said his office is considering next steps.
- The ruling follows similar appellate strikes against state bans in California and Illinois and may prompt Supreme Court review of state versus federal authority in immigration enforcement.