Above: Outside Delaney Hall in Newark Henry Craver/AFSC
A lot happened this past month in New Jersey’s immigrant rights landscape. There were some important victories, but also many tragic setbacks. We have summarized some of the most important developments below.
The strike ends
The hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall has effectively come to an end—not because its demands were met, but because of transfers and reprisals that affected both detained people and their families.
Scores of strikers were transferred to detention centers across the country. These transfers served a dual purpose: disrupting the strike by separating participants and intimidating those who remained, many of whom feared being sent far from their loved ones in New Jersey. Family visitation, which was briefly suspended during the strike, was later reinstated under significant restrictions. Visits have been reduced to 30 minutes, are offered only twice a week in some housing units, and are limited to immediate family members on an approved list.
The strike achieved important victories. As the strikers demanded, many vulnerable detained people were ultimately released. Yet, as is often the case in such movements for justice, many of the most significant gains will be felt by others in the future rather than by the strikers themselves. However, the transfer of detainees who participated in the strike spreads this movement further, with advocates determined to remain in touch. And most notably, the state has filed a lawsuit against GEO Group and announced an additional $20.2 million in funding for immigration legal services—both measures long advocated for by AFSC and its partners.
Different century, same abuse
On June 18, 1995, immigrants detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center rebelled against the abusive conditions they endured under Esmor Correctional Services, the private contractor hired by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). An INS investigation later substantiated many of the detainees' allegations. A New York Times article describing the investigation called the facility “a secretive fief in which poorly trained abusive guards preyed on immigrants with little control from their supervisors.”
In 2005, Esmor was acquired by GEO Group, the corporation that now operates Delaney Hall. An upcoming book, Elizabeth Detention Center: A Social History of Confinement in the United States, 1993–2025, examines the 1995 rebellion and the broader systems of immigration detention that have allowed similar abuses to persist across decades and facilities.
On the 31st anniversary of the uprising, contributors to the book—including AFSC U.S. Migration Director and former NJ Immigrant Rights Program Director Amy Gottlieb—gathered outside the Elizabeth Detention Center to discuss the book, the legacy of the 1995 uprising, and the current state of immigrant rights in New Jersey and across the country.
Above: Book pre-launch gathering outside the Elizabeth Detention Center Serges Demefack/AFSC
A SCOTUS betrayal
On June 25, the Supreme Court issued two devastating rulings that directly threaten New Jersey’s immigrant communities. In Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the Court upheld the federal policy of turning away asylum seekers at ports of entry, greenlighting "metering" policies and stripping vital protections from families fleeing violence. Concurrently, in Mullin v. Doe, the Court ruled that the administration can terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from Syria and Haiti, stripping judicial review and putting over 350,000 Haitian and 6,000 Syrian neighbors at immediate risk of deportation while endangering all TPS holders nationwide.
New Jersey is home to vibrant, deeply rooted communities of TPS recipients and asylum seekers who have built lives here for decades. These decisions threaten to tear apart the very fabric of our state. AFSC NJ will do everything we can to prevent that from happening.
DACA is also in danger
Right now, Dreamers are facing serious threats. On top of systemic renewal delays, a recent immigration board ruling weakened protections, deciding that having DACA alone is no longer enough to automatically stop an active deportation case. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is likely to soon issue a decision on a dangerous proposal that could strip work permits and legal presence from recipients within 15 days just for moving to Texas—threatening to fracture the program nationwide.
AFSC NJ organizers and members of our Red Bank youth group traveled to Washington D.C. on June 15, the 14th year anniversary of DACA, to advocate for a path to citizenship for Dreamers. The recent developments have made clear what we’ve been saying all along: DACA is a temporary band aid, not a permanent solution. Citizenship is the only way forward.
Photo: Nina Rothberg
Hope in Roxbury
According to a recent court filing, the federal government is giving up on its plan to convert a Roxbury warehouse into an immigration detention center. In March, following months of advocacy by Roxbury residents and New Jersey immigrant rights organizers, the New Jersey Attorney General sued the Department of Homeland Security, alleging that the project had moved forward without proper environmental review. If the reverse of sale becomes final, this is a major victory for New Jersey. Another large ICE jail would likely lead to the detention of more New Jersey residents who’d be subject to the kind of abuses documented at Delaney Hall.
Above: Serges Demefack, an AFSC NJ organizer, speaks at a protest in Newark against ICE detention expansion in Roxbury. Photo: Henry Craver/AFSC
As always, thank you for your support! If you are able, please consider making a contribution to fund our work into the future.
Henry Craver
Communications Coordinator
AFSC NJ Immigrant Rights Program