Our Social Action Committee recently sent a petition to State Sen. Loretta Weinberg asking her to “craft and introduce legislation that would require all facilities in New Jersey holding immigrant detainees” under contract to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to adhere to standards for humane treatment of the detainees.
The petition, with 42 signatures obtained in one day, said the legislation should include state inspections of detention facilities to ensure compliance with existing federal law, and penalties for non-compliance.
Such legislation could serve as a model for other states and “an impetus to push the federal government toward better protecting the well-being of immigrant detainees,” said the petition, written by Dan Rosenblum, chair of the Society’s Social Action Committee.
