A federal appeals court has ruled that New Jersey cannot block the federal government from contracting with private companies to run immigration detention centers in the state — calling the state’s attempt a “big step down a slippery slope” that interferes with core federal powers.
In a 2–1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit sided with the Trump administration and private prison operator CoreCivic, ruling that New Jersey’s 2021 law banning new or renewed immigration detention contracts with private companies was unconstitutional. The court found the law unlawfully interfered with the federal government’s exclusive authority over immigration enforcement.
While the law didn’t explicitly mention the federal government, the court wasn’t convinced. “We can easily see the law for what it really is: a regulation laid upon the contract of the government,” wrote Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, in the majority opinion.
Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, appointed by President Obama, joined the opinion. Judge Thomas Ambro, a Clinton appointee, dissented.
The case stemmed from CoreCivic’s lawsuit against Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matthew Platkin after the company was barred from continuing operations at the Elizabeth Detention Center — a key facility used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A lower court had already ruled in CoreCivic’s favor, and the appeals court affirmed that decision.
“The law prevents the federal government from choosing how and through whom it will carry out a core federal function,” Bibas wrote. He added that because the federal government is the only entity contracting for immigration detention, banning private companies effectively shuts down the government’s ability to operate.
Bibas compared New Jersey’s logic to a hypothetical where states could block defense contractors from working with the Pentagon — potentially crippling the U.S. military. “At bottom, this law is an effort to hamstring the federal government’s immigration power,” he wrote.
The opinion also emphasized the operational burden if the Elizabeth facility were shut down. The nearest alternative ICE facility is over 250 miles away in central Pennsylvania — a logistical and financial strain that could worsen as border activity fluctuates.
New Jersey officials had argued the law only targeted private companies operating within state borders — not the federal government directly. But the court rejected that argument, pointing out that the law eliminates all potential contracting partners, making it impossible for the federal government to function.
“New Jersey knew it could not openly bar the federal government,” Bibas added, “so it eliminated everyone the federal government might work with. It asks us not to notice the federal elephant in the room.”
Attorney General Platkin expressed disappointment, citing health and safety concerns and a string of arrests at another ICE facility earlier this year. “Entrusting immigration detention to for-profit companies poses grave risks,” he said, adding that the state is considering its next legal steps.
