This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
The landlord of the Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, said it is seeking to terminate the lease it holds with CoreCivic, a private prison company that runs the immigration detention center there. The company, Elberon Development Group, said it was seeking to “determine the earliest termination date.” CoreCivic has housed ICE detainees at that location for over two decades. “As supporters of many important educational, social service, and religious organizations in the community, we want our values mirrored in our work. We believe that each business has the right to determine its own path forward. We now have shared ours,” Elberon said. Bergen Record
In other local immigration news…
Why People from El Salvador Still Feel Forced to Migrate to the U.S.
Documented Original Even after El Salvador’s Civil War ended, Aníbal Martínez and Víctor Galeas couldn’t find peace — or jobs — at home. They made their way to the United States in their early twenties, but were eventually deported, and cannot find steady work making close to what they did in America. Like Guatemala and Honduras, El Salvador has seen a mass exodus. The region’s economic and security woes and the sheer number of migrants traveling to the United States were the impetus for the Obama administration’s 2014 development plan targeting Central America. The Alliance for Prosperity in the Northern Triangle of Central America, or A4P, was designed to distance itself from past projects that had prioritized public safety over the economy. On paper, all three governments would put money down for the plan, but the paper trail suggests otherwise.
This is the final installment of a collaborative series between Documented and the Guatemala City-based organization El Intercambio. The first two parts of this series covered the A4P’s legacy in Honduras and Guatemala. Head here to continue the story.
New York Launches Rent Relief, Site Immediately Crashes
On Thursday, New York state launched its $100 million rental voucher aid program. But just how one can apply for and use the COVID Rent Relief Program, which will provide money directly to landlords, is complicated. There are rules regarding what months rent relief can apply, and only those whose rent cost a certain percentage of their income qualify. Households with at least one household member with U.S. citizenship or eligible immigration status are qualified to receive the subsidy. And to make matters worse, the website for applying for the program crashed the day it opened. Queens Eagle, Curbed
Feds Announce Terrorism Charges Against MS-13 Members
Federal authorities have announced they will pursue terrorism charges against a leader of MS-13, the first time the Justice Department has brought such charges against a member of the gang. The announcement came as grand juries in New York City and Nevada levied new charges against several MS-13 members, ranging from drug dealing to kidnapping and murder. Trump often uses the gang as a scapegoat to justify harsh immigration policies. Federal authorities and local law enforcement have conducted several large arrest sweeps on Long Island, which resulted in the arrests of numerous teenagers from Central America who say they have few ties to the gang. The Associated Press
