TRENTON - Gov. Mikie Sherrill this morning announced a bipartisan suit by the State of New Jersey and the Twp. of Rosbury against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, strongly objecting to the siting of an ICE detention facility in the Morris County town without public input.

VIEW THE COMPLAINT HERE

According to the Governor's Office, the lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (ICA), and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). To remedy these violations, New Jersey and Roxbury are asking the U.S. District Court to stop the federal government from implementing the decision to create a mass detention facility.

“The safety and well-being of New Jerseyans will always be my top priority, and the Trump Administration’s plans for a detention facility in Roxbury will not make our residents safer. Instead, this facility will overburden local services and infrastructure,” said Sherrill at a Statehouse press conference. “These types of facilities also have a long track record of abuse, mistreatment, and unsafe conditions. This is not a partisan issue – Republican leaders in the community are similarly against this facility. That is why we are joining with Roxbury to stop this facility to protect the community and our Constitution.”

“Today, we join efforts to enforce the law and protect the rights of all New Jerseyans,” said Attorney General Davenport. “Federal laws require—and our State and towns deserve—that DHS and ICE consult with the State and the Township on major projects in their backyard. Instead, DHS and ICE are ramming through a secretive purchase and rushed renovation. We will not allow these ill-considered plans to happen. We have partnered with the Township of Roxbury, relying on the Township’s crucial local knowledge and efficiently combining our resources for this important bipartisan fight.”

By way of background from The Sentonian:

Sherrill earlier this year criticized the federal government’s plan to convert a warehouse into an immigration detention center in a letter to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has since resigned.

"The warehouse, purchased by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Feb. 20, is slated for use by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a detention facility that could hold up to 1,500 people. 

"Sherrill said the community was excluded from the decision-making process and only learned of the plan through media reports." 

President Donald Trump wants to replace canned DHS chief Noem with Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok.) following ICE agent's killing of two 1st Amendment-exercising Americans in Minneapolis earlier this year.

U.S. Senator Andy Kim earlier this week in his cross examination of the Homeland Security Secretary nominee secured a commitment from Mullin to come to Roxbury to examine where the agency he hopes to lead wants to site an ICE detainment facility.

That's if Mullin gets confirmed, which seems likely given GOP control, although not everyone in his own party sees him as a good fit for the office he seeks. The nominee, a sitting Republican Senator from Oklahoma, struggled to explain public violent tendencies and threatening behavior when queried by U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

Today, at the Governor's press conference, Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potilo, a Republican, joined her in announcing his town's partnership with the state in the lawsuit.

“The Council and I commend the Governor and the Attorney General for their swift and decisive action to help prevent the placement of an ICE detention center within our suburban community,” said Potillo. “We remain confident that, through this process, it will be clearly demonstrated that this location is not appropriate for a facility of this nature, given the significant impacts it would have on our residents, local resources, and the surrounding environment. This partnership is also important for Roxbury residents, as the Office of Attorney General can provide significant legal resources that protects Roxbury’s local property taxpayers from shouldering most of this cost alone.”

More below from the Governor's Office: