Hundreds of people gathered in Roxbury, New Jersey, on Saturday as part of an ongoing protest against the federal government’s plan to build an immigration detention facility there.
Opposition to the detention center has crossed partisan lines with the all-Republican township council objecting to the placement of the facility in their community. But the protest Saturday was led by progressive Democrats opposed to the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.
“I’ve spent my life working in affordable housing, so I know a thing or two about NIMBYs, and so this might be the first time that I actually am one,” Democratic state Assemblymember Katie Brennan told the crowd. “Not in my backyard, not here, not anywhere in New Jersey, not anywhere in the United States of America.”
Assemblymembers Ravi Bhalla, Katie Brennan and Congressional candidate Analilia Mejia at a protest in Roxbury against a planned ICE detention facility.
Aristide Economopoulos for Gothamist
The Department of Homeland Security paid $129.3 million for the property in a deal that closed just over a week ago, according to records filed with the Morris County Clerk Office. The price tag was more than double the amount of the latest property assessment.
The purchase capped two chaotic weeks of contradictory statements from the federal government. The agency first told Gothamist it had bought the property, then issued a statement saying it had not, then reversed course again, confirming the sale on Feb. 20.
The move sparked fierce protest from many residents and the township council voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing the facility. They argued the site, which would house up to 1,300 detainees, was not fit for a detention facility given limited water and sewer infrastructure and because local services were not “structured to absorb the demands such a facility would impose.”
Gothamist reported Saturday that the site could run afoul of a state law that limits development in the area, due to its location in a watershed that serves close to a million New Jersey residents.
DHS has painted the facility as a boon for the local economy, saying it would bring more than 1,000 jobs to the area and $39.2 million in tax revenue.
Protesters demonstrated Saturday against a planned ICE detention center in Roxbury, NJ
Aristide Economopoulos for Gothamist
Activist groups, including No ICE North Jersey Alliance and No Ice Jails in Northern NJ, have vowed to continue fighting the project.
In traditional Jersey fashion, protesters peppered their remarks with some choice expletives for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Brennan and fellow Assemblymember Ravi Bhalla have drafted a bill that would make it easier to pursue civil litigation against the federal agency. The official name of the bill is the Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act, or F— ICE.
“This is not a Republican or a Democratic issue,” Bhalla said Saturday. “This is an American issue, alright? This is about all of us and all of us being in it together.”
