Rep. Mikie Sherrill Visits Essex County Prison Amid Concerns – Newark, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An embattled, county-run prison in Essex County continues to attract attention from elected officials.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill – who represents the state’s 11th District, including several towns in Essex County – became the latest official to take an interest in Essex County Correctional Facility, which houses a mix of criminal and civil detainees.

The county contracts with ICE to house hundreds of federal detainees awaiting deportation at the jail, an arrangement that brings in an estimated $50 million per year for the county, some experts say. Local civil rights advocates and families of prisoners have been decrying conditions at the prison for years, as well as the “blood money” it rakes in for the county.

Last week, county officials announced plans to create a “civilian task force” at the jail, which has seen accusations of stomach-churning health and safety risks for inmates, and was recently named as one of three “inhumane” prisons in New Jersey.

According to Sherrill, many of her constituents have been reaching out to express their concerns about the facility, prompting her visit on Oct. 28, which was “immediately agreed to” by the office of Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr.

At the time of the congresswoman’s visit, the jail held about 2,200 inmates, including more than 600 ICE detainees, she stated.

“During my tour, I met the newly-appointed inmate advocate, in addition to viewing the kitchens, dormitories, medical facility, gymnasium, law resources room, and rooms for private counsel,” Sherrill wrote.

The congresswoman offered some positive words for recent improvement efforts at the prison, which took place in the wake of a scathing inspection report from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General.

She said that her visit came on the heels of the county’s announcement that it plans to create a civilian task force to provide oversight at the prison.

“The facility has implemented changes based on the Inspector General’s report, and pointed out some of these changes during the kitchen tour,” Sherrill said.

However, more work needs to be done to protect inmates’ rights in Congress, Sherrill added.

“At the federal level, I will continue to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform,” Sherrill said. “Congress must take continued action to protect children at the border, improve conditions at detention facilities, conduct oversight, and authorize additional immigration judges to address the backlog in our courts.”

Some internet commenters offered praise for Sherill’s statement.

• “Thank you Mikie for responding to the many important issues affecting our district, state and country. We are proud to call you our representative. Keep up the good work.”
• “Thanks for taking time to take that tour.”

However, others said the task force – and current efforts to protect inmates at the jail – are simply not enough.

• “The civilian task force does not stop Essex County complicity with ICE breaking up families, it does not end the cooperation of Essex County detaining innocent undocumented immigrants, it does not stop profiting on the back of undocumented immigrants. Essex County must end the ICE contract now!”
• “The task force is not an independent oversight. It is appointed by the county executive, it reports to the county executive, it is limited in the scope of its inquiry and in investigatory powers. Let’s call things what they are. This is a convenient window dressing to obscure the fact that Essex County benefits from ICE contracts and is unwilling to be scrutinized by truly independent oversight.”
• “Congresswoman: WE WANT THE ICE CONCENTRATION CAMP CLOSED. Fine, have your tour, have your photo ops with your fellow deportation Democrat (i would share the photo of you and Deportation Joe, but your facebook page does not allow for posting them), but what we need is the closure of the Essex County ICE camp run by your fellow Democrats–one of the largest in the entire nationwide collection of camps. A victory here will strengthen the growing movement to close them all, and win full citizenship rights for all who live here. SHUT IT DOWN!”

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