“NORTHEASTERN GULAG”: FORT DIX BECOMES NEXT IMMIGRATION DETENTION SITE

ICE jails blossom in the Garden State as New Jersey’s legislature lacks courage to pass the Immigrant Trust Act

Newark, NJ [07/18/25] - The Trump administration has announced Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as its latest immigrant detention site—a stealth move that requires no contract, timeline, or public oversight. In a letter to NJ-3 Congressman Herb Conaway, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth revealed the joint base was chosen as a "temporary" holding facility for immigrants. Yet the plan includes no clarity on timeline, contractor involvement, and no assurance to families, attorneys, or advocates of access. 

The Garden State has been marred by the expansion of ICE detention in recent years. CoreCivic, the world’s largest private prison corporation, was initially successful in striking down the private provisions of New Jersey’s ban on ICE detention contracts. It’s lone site in New Jersey, Elizabeth Detention Center, recently announced another extension of its contract with ICE while the appeal in that case awaits decision by a panel of third circuit judges. New Jersey also made headlines when Delaney Hall, owned and operated by Geo Group, opened without proper local permit, inspections, or certificates of occupancy. Newark’s Mayor Baraka was wrongfully arrested during a Congressional oversight visit of the facility and while his charges were later dropped, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was later charged with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers. The Congresswoman has pled not guilty in the case, which is set to resume this fall.

Accusations of abuse, negligence, insufficient or expired food, inhumane conditions, and medical mistreatment have plagued both Elizabeth Detention Center and Delaney Hall since their openings. This spring, following a period of 20 hours with no food, people detained in Delaney Hall protested conditions resulting in a facility-wide shutdown and reinforcement from federal agents armed with tear gas, gas masks, and heavy armor. That same day, four individuals escaped Delaney Hall by pushing back against a wall that was constructed of mesh and drywall.

But unlike New Jersey’s two private detention centers, Fort Dix will operate entirely under federal control, shielding it from accountability and making it nearly impossible for advocates, attorneys, and families to monitor conditions or support detained individuals. New Jersey’s privately run facilities are bad enough. Fort Dix, once a symbol of refuge when it was used to temporarily house Afghan evacuees, will now be will now be used jail immigrants in secrecy.

“This is a dangerous escalation of the federal government’s detention machine and a direct attack on New Jersey’s efforts to protect immigrant communities,” said Amy Torres, Executive Director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. “Our state made history with AB5207, but even that couldn’t stop the renewal of the Elizabeth Detention Center. Newark’s leaders fought Delaney Hall with every legal tool available, but couldn’t stop Delaney Hall. Now, with ICE using a federal military base, there are no contracts to block and no local levers to pull. The only move left for Senate President Scutari and Speaker Coughlin to pass the Immigrant Trust Act and its long-overdue data privacy protections. There’s no such thing as lawmakers fighting a federal site from below. But the New Jersey Legislature and Governor Murphy can stop ICE from accessing the personal data that fuels arrests and funnels our neighbors into these rogue facilities that the State is otherwise powerless to stop.”

Congressman Conaway, a former Air Force medical officer, warned that the site may serve as a staging ground for expanded ICE raids across New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, calling it a potential "northeastern gulag" modeled after the new “Alligator Alcatraz” site in Florida. New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice is the state’s largest immigration coalition, bringing together 60+ organizations that fight for policies that empower and protect immigrants. NJAIJ has been pushing bills that expand and codify the state’s Immigrant Trust Directive since 2021. The protections would prevent ICE officers from freely combing data from schools, health centers, housing authorities, and other public agencies without a warrant and would significantly reduce the number of New Jerseyans prone to surveillance, profile, and wrongful arrest.  Of the three bills introduced in the legislature over the last few years, none have received a committee hearing.

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