NEWARK — Despite the barbed wire snaking across the top of its perimeter fence, Delaney Hall is not a traditional lock-up. Some dorm rooms have skylights.

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Bookshelves line a library wall. When immigration detainees begin filling the stark-white rooms next month — thanks to the new contract between the federal government and Essex County — they will be free to walk the halls during the day.

These small comforts are part of a wide-ranging reform effort by U. Immigration and Customs Enforcement known as ICE , which is seeking a less punitive form of incarceration for immigrant detainees. But the Newark facility, run by the company Community Education Centers and toured by The Star-Ledger last month, became the center of a controversy that pitted immigrant activists against politicians and company executives.

The battle took a distinctly New Jersey turn, with allegations that a now-canceled bidding process was stacked in favor of the politically connected company.

Detainees will include legal and illegal immigrants facing deportation for breaking immigration rules, such as overstaying a visa or entering the country without proper documents, or for committing nonviolent crimes. The contract with ICE, approved by the Essex freeholder board Sept.

Most detainees will be kept at the county jail and up to will go to Delaney Hall, which also houses parolees and county inmates. The five-year arrangement allows the county to act as a middleman. Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo said the county jail and Delaney Hall would provide "modern, safe and dignified housing with access to health care and visitation.

Program, said too may people are being detained because of strict federal laws signed in the s. The Obama administration disappointed advocates by increasing deportations, but recently announced it would review , cases to focus on those considered a security risk. There are 33, detainees held by ICE on an average day this year, up from 30, in the fiscal year, the agency said.

ICE also plans new operations near Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta and Kansas City. The expansion is geared toward two goals set by the Obama administration: In New Jersey, which has an average of detainees each day, immigration authorities use five county jails: Essex, Bergen, Monmouth, Hudson and Sussex. They also use a private facility in Elizabeth run by Corrections Corporation of America, a Nashville, Tenn.

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Detainees housed in the Northeast spend an average of 49 days in ICE facilities, according to contract documents. The company, which also runs two Texas correctional facilities where ICE detainees are housed, has worked with Essex County for more than a decade.

The company has modified Delaney Hall in preparation for housing detainees. The lowest-security detainees will be sent there while those facing criminal charges will stay in the county jail. The front half will continue to house parolees and county inmates, while the back half will be for detainees. A second entrance is labeled "immigration services. This is a second chance for the company to use Delaney Hall for detainees. In , one escaped and was later recaptured in Kentucky.

All detainees were moved back to the county jail. Officials said security is now tighter. For example, bidders were required to already have an existing correctional facility located within 10 miles of the jail — Delaney Hall is adjacent to the jail.

A senior vice president, William Palatucci, is a close adviser to Gov. County officials denied any wrongdoing. Delaney Hall will house detainees through Dec. Sometimes the company leads the charge to bring in detainees.

Representatives from the Corrections Corporation of America CCA called the town last year with a pitch for a new facility, saying it would bring new jobs and tax revenue to the area. Town administrator Thomas Durkin said Crete worked with the company to pitch a plan to ICE. They were tenatively selected as a site for a new facility in June. ICE also tenatively selected Southwest Ranches, Fla. CCA owns land there and the town approved the site plan, administrator Burt Wraines said.

Nationwide, half of all ICE detainees were housed in private facilities in , according to Detention Watch Network. Ruthie Epstein, a critic of detention policies who works at Human Rights First in New York City, said Delaney Hall is better than county jails. That does not assuage all activists. Some note the chemical smell that wafts through the surrounding industrial park.

Most of all, though, they are troubled by the underlying federal policy of mandatory detention. To view and subscribe to any of our other newsletters, please click here. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

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Edit Public Profile Sign Out. Email newsletters The Star-Ledger The Times of Trenton The Jersey Journal South Jersey Times Hunterdon County Democrat. The center has become a focal point of controversy, as civil libertarians contend the privatized center profits from mandatory detention for immigrants who have committed civil, not criminal, violations.

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Essex County immigrant detention center a house of controversy | isycihe.web.fc2.com

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