NEW JERSEY – As Hudson County nears the end of its contract with U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on December 31, 2020, 61 immigrant rights advocates
submitted a statement to county freeholders, urging them to stay true to their
commitment ending the contract.

In the interim, Hudson County should work with directly impacted families, community
organizers, and legal representatives to ensure a responsible end to the county’s
relationship with ICE. In order to further protect our communities from the trauma of
incarceration, this coalition also demands that Hudson County not enter any other
agreements to incarcerate people, including agreements with neighboring counties, ICE,
or other agencies.

“Over the last 24 years, thousands of immigrants have lost their freedom—and some
have lost their lives—due to this immigration contract, which Hudson County has
egregiously and immorally defended based on its desire to generate revenue from and
for incarceration,” the statement reads in part.

Hudson’s complicity with ICE has caused irreparable harm to the community and fuels a
deportation machine in which people are separated from their loved ones and forced into
cages.

“Everytime I think or talk about Hudson County Jail I get so emotional and sad for all the
pain and suffering I went through,” says Mariam, an immigrant from Haiti previously
detained at the Hudson County Correctional Center. “Because of Hudson County
now I have all kinds of mental problems that lead me to go on medication for the rest of
my life. I also have health issues because of the conditions. I think Hudson should be
shut down for immigrants in ICE custody.”

National and local organizations that have signed on to this statement include: Freedom
for Immigrants, Detention Watch Network, NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic,
New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, North New Jersey and Central Jersey
Democratic Socialists of America, Progressive Democrats of Hudson County, South
Jersey Solidarity Collective, Pax Christi NJ, Queer Detainee Empowerment Project,
American Friends Service Committee, New Sanctuary Coalition, 4 Change Bergen
County, Action 21, Adhikaar, Aldea – The People’s Justice Center, Bergen County
Immigration Strategy Group, Black Trans Nation, BLMxTeaneck, Brooklyn Community

Bail Fund, Campaign for NY Health, Casa Freehold, Center for Constitutional Rights,
Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, Close the Camps NYC, Deportation and
Immigration Response Equipo, Doctors for Camp Closure, Drug Policy Alliance, DRUM –
Desis Rising Up & Moving, Edison 4 Racial Justice, Emerald Isle Immigration Center,
Faith in New Jersey, Families for Freedom, Hudson County Progressive Alliance, Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, MekongNYC, Mercer for Abolition, Migrante New
Jersey, Montclair Beyond Policing, National Medical Association, NJ-08 for Progress, NY
Docs Collective, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest – Medical Providers Network,
New York State Youth Leadership Council, North Jersey Alternatives to Policing
Taskforce, Occupy Bergen County, Progressive Doctors, Queens, Neighborhoods
United, Ridgewood for Black Liberation, Riverside Sojourners, RP4Equality, Showing Up
for Racial Justice (SURJ) NYC, Students for a National Health Program – NY, Sunrise
Rutgers, The Keys Organization, The People’s March Queens, Unidad Latina en Acción
New Jersey, UnLocal, Uptown Progressive Action, Wayne For Change, Young
Ecosocialists Caucus – NJ