Wednesday I joined immigrant rights activists outside Elberon Development Group to protest their relationship with the Elizabeth Detention Center. This was our second action at their offices.

The day before our protest many of us received an email from Elberon stating that they would be severing their 25-year-old relationship with Core Civic, the private company that detains immigrants at Elizabeth Detention Center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We can only speculate whether this was a coincidence in timing, or a last-ditch effort to keep us from making a scene at the planned protest the following day. And while we were pleased with the news of the alleged demise of this financial collaboration, the letter came with no details. Thus, we continued with our plans to demonstrate.

While we are also pleased by the media response to Elberon’s change of heart, we ask you to go deeper. A money trail leading from Elberon to Kean University – as well as other prominent New Jersey institutions – has already been uncovered. We ask that the media stay on this story, and continue to highlight how Essex County residents, as just one example, profit directly from the imprisonment of immigrant bodies.