This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
There are only 13 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees left at the Essex County jail in Newark, New Jersey, according to a county official. Essex County officials announced in the spring that ICE has until Aug. 23 to remove its detainees from the jail. After facing public pressure to stop holding ICE detainees, Essex said it would hold Union County inmates at the facility instead. ICE transferred several detainees to facilities in Massachusetts, Georgia and Nevada, which motivated the American Civil Liberties Union and others to file a lawsuit to bar the moves. A federal court judge has since denied the lawsuit. NJ Spotlight
In other local immigration news…
“I Know What Pandemic Means” Featured at Rooftop Films
📍 Documented Film
As a part of NYC Homecoming Week, Rooftop Films is showing free outdoor screenings in all five boroughs from August 14 to 22. Documented and Waterwell’s documentary, “Yo sé qué es pandemia” or “I Know What Pandemic Means,” will be included in the weeklong event. The documentary features compelling stories about New York City Latin American communities’ experiences during the pandemic. Documented wanted to highlight individual stories from our readers while also telling the bigger story of the city through a pandemic. “I Know What Pandemic Means” will air Friday, August 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the New Hall of Science in Queens. Click here to RSVP for the free event.
NJ Bar Fights Bill to End Immigration Detention Expansion
New Jersey State Bar Association attorneys asked Gov. Phil Murphy (D) to deny a bill from state lawmakers that would block ICE from expanding immigration detention within the state. Just a week after the state legislature approved the bill, bar members said their clients were being transferred to out-of-state ICE facilities in the South, many of them far from families and attorneys. Murphy’s legal counsel asked for recommendations from the bar association to support its request for the veto. The ACLU denied the bar association’s claim and said detainees were being transferred to prisons in Georgia and Nevada because Essex County ended its ICE contract. NorthJersey.com
How Advocates Plan to Help Immigrant Communities Get Vaccinated
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced a $15 million investment to increase vaccine rates, especially in hard-to-reach communities. The New York Immigration Coalition received $1 million of this funding, and is focusing not just on vaccination, but on how immigrants can access relief. The organization plans to create brochures, regional education events, webinars and a referral program among COVID-19 vaccine providers, as well as promote food pantries and community-based organizations. The materials would be translated into nine languages. Rush Perez, NYIC’s communications manager, said the organization will “use digital outreach strategies to target community members on the latest public health guidance via text and robocalls to reach 100,000 individuals.” City Limits
