Court Rules Against New Jersey Bid to Ban ICE Detention Facilities in State

A state cannot control the federal government and vice versa since each is sovereign, Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at Delaney Hall, a newly converted immigrant detention center in Elizabeth, N.J., on May 7, 2025. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

New Jersey does not have the authority to prohibit private prison companies from housing illegal immigrants on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled on July 22.

In August 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill 5207, which bans state and local entities, as well as private detention facilities, from entering into agreements to detain illegal immigrants. In February 2023, CoreCivic, which operates private correctional and detention facilities across the United States, sued New Jersey officials, including Murphy.