Rights Groups Sue Biden Administration for Transfer of Migrant Detainees in New Jersey

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A number of civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President Joe Biden seeking to block the long-distance transfer of detainees under the jurisdiction of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Newark, New Jersey, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced on Tuesday.

"In its first legal challenge to an immigration policy filed during the Biden administration, the American Civil Liberties Union today launched a federal class-action lawsuit that seeks to immediately block the long-distance transfer of ICE detainees from the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, N.J.," the ACLU said.

Apart from the ACLU, the lawsuit is supported by the state-based ACLU of New Jersey and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild.

The move comes after Essex County, New Jersey, recently announced that they were ending the ICE contract with he Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark. When these facilities are shut down, the detainees are usually transferred to other states, such as Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana - which are hundreds of miles from the detainees' families.

"Today’s suit is a challenge to a decision made by the Biden administration — it’s not a Trump hold-over. True to form, we will sue any administration — Democrat or Republican — and hold them accountable when they take positions that violate civil liberties and civil rights. This may be one of the first lawsuits filed against the Biden administration by advocacy groups, but I’m guessing it won’t be the last," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said.

The lawsuit comes shortly after a recent announcement that on Tuesday a group of 30 immigrant detainees in Newark were transferred to an unknown location. Among those transferred were males on a hunger strike who reported that they feared that they would be forcibly relocated.