Roxbury Mayor Shawn Potillo says the township is concerned about claims ICE defied a court order barring use of a planned detention center, and that its attorney alerted New Jersey’s attorney general, whose office is investigating. ICE declined comment, citing litigation.
In May, a federal court barred ICE from using a vacant Roxbury warehouse for a detention center pending an environmental assessment. The No ICE In Northern Jersey Alliance (NINJA) says ICE defied the order, citing video clips of agents in unmarked SUVs arresting and transporting immigrant men in Dover on Sept. 4 and what appeared to be the same vehicles traveling to and from the warehouse later that day.
Roxbury joined New Jersey’s lawsuit in March after adopting a resolution opposing the warehouse plan. At Tuesday’s meeting, residents criticized the council for not publicly denouncing the alleged defiance; none of its seven members responded. Potillo said officials had been advised not to comment during pending litigation and that the state and township would take immediate action if credible evidence confirmed the allegations.
