Essex County Prison No Longer Housing Immigrant Detainees Essex County Prison in Newark, New Jersey, has officially ended its detention of individuals for federal immigration violations. The County Chief Executive, Joseph N. DiVincenzo, stated that as of Tuesday this week, the prison – located in the third-largest county in the state – no longer had any immigration detainees. Essex County officials announced in April that it would READ MORE READ MORE

The United States is facing severe labor shortages in its agriculture, meatpacking, and poultry industries. In response to the problem, Iowa State Farms, one of the state’s largest pork producers, is pressuring U.S. Senators to allow for a year-round flow of immigrant workers. In a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Iowa State Farms requested more laborers, stating that current employment numbers are inadequate to meet the industry’s READ MORE READ MORE

Since the Biden administration came into office, Texas has faced an influx of illegal immigrants followed by a wave of crimes. Many states and national agricultural organizations have written to the Biden administration requesting immediate action to enforce immigration laws. The Texas Department of Agriculture, 50 other states, and national organizations wrote to the Secretaries of the Departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Interior as follows: “The READ MORE READ MORE

Federal Court Upholds New Jersey Attorney General’s Ban on Providing Information to Federal Agencies On Monday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals – which retains jurisdiction over New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware – upheld the 2018 directive of former New Jersey Attorney General Gubrir Grewal to limit local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration agencies. The order, first issued in 2018 and amended a year later, prohibited READ MORE READ MORE

On July 15, New York legalized the use of recreational marijuana for adults 21 years and older. The bill allows possession of up to three ounces of cannabis for recreational use, or 24 grams of concentrated cannabis from plants. New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana use in December 2020, authorizing the use of six ounces of cannabis. Both states will create a regulatory structure for adult-use sales. Immigrants, READ MORE READ MORE