Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman ELIANA PINTOR MARIN
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Quijano and Morales
SYNOPSIS
Limits use of State, county, and municipal property or funding to support immigrant detention facilities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act limiting the use of State, county, and municipal funds and property for the construction, operation, or support of immigrant detention facilities and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. For the purposes of this section, “political subdivision” means a unit or agency of government deriving its authority directly or indirectly from the State of New Jersey.
b. The State or a political subdivision shall not:
(1) expend funds of the State or a political subdivision to construct, renovate, or repurpose State-owned property or property owned by a political subdivision for use as an immigrant detention facility;
(2) sell, donate, or lease property owned by the State or a political subdivision to a private or governmental entity for use as an immigrant detention facility;
(3) pay, reimburse, subsidize, or defray, in any way, the costs related to the sale, purchase, construction, development, ownership, management, or operation of an immigrant detention facility that is owned, managed, or operated by a private entity; or
(4) pay for costs related to the detention of an individual in an immigrant detention facility that is, or will be, owned at least partially by a private entity.
c. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the State or a political subdivision from providing health and safety resources to an individual detained in an immigrant detention facility.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill limits the State, and each political subdivision of the State, from utilizing funds or property to construct, operate, or otherwise support privately and publicly owned immigrant detention facilities.
Specifically, the bill prohibits the State and its political subdivisions from: 1) expending funds for the construction, renovation, or repurposing of property into an immigrant detention facility; 2) selling, donating, or leasing property to a private entity or governmental entity for use as an immigrant detention facility; 3) providing funds to a privately-owned immigrant detention facility to assist with the costs related to owning or operating the facility; or 4) paying for the costs related to detaining an individual in an immigrant detention facility that is at least partially owned, or will be owned, by a private entity. Under the bill, the State or political subdivision may still provide health and safety resources to an individual detained in an immigrant detention facility.
The bill defines “political subdivision” as a unit or agency of government that derives its authority from the State, including counties and municipalities.