Community activists and faith leaders demonstrated outside the Elizabeth Detention Center on Friday, to focus attention on immigrant detainees. The Elizabeth center is the only facility in the state that still houses immigrant detainees. County jails no longer house immigrants held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as they face deportation. Since the jails ended contracts with ICE, federal immigration authorities have transferred detainees to other facilities, often in other states, far away from their families.
Activists called for the release of immigrants and an end to transfers. They also want detainees who have been transferred out of state to be brought back home to their families. The Elizabeth Detention Center currently houses 121 immigrants; the majority of them are seeking asylum, according to activists.
