Credit: (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
File photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detain a man suspected of being in the country illegally.
The New Jersey Legislature on Thursday began considering whether to bar counties and private companies from entering into new contracts to house undocumented immigrants detained by federal officials.
Advocates of a ban say that not only do these detentions rip families apart, but also, the conditions in some of the facilities are deplorable and inhumane. Further, the availability of beds in these facilities encourages U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to be more aggressive in picking up and holding people for no reason other than they lack the legal status to be in the country.