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Immigrant advocates urge $19.5M for detention and deportation defense as ICE activity rises
Summary
Coalitions of legal aid groups and immigrant advocates asked the committee to increase the state Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative (DDDI) to $19.5 million, saying current funding meets only a fraction of demand and that an increase in ICE enforcement and expanded detention capacity in Newark will create urgent new needs.
Lede Immigrant legal‑aid groups and advocates urged the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to expand state funding for the Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative (DDDI) from current levels to $19,500,000 as federal enforcement intensifies and detained caseloads grow.
Nut graf Speakers said DDDI currently meets a minority of demand for counsel in detained immigration cases and argued an expanded state program is necessary as federal policy and a planned private‑contract detention facility in Newark increase the number of detained New Jersey residents needing representation.
Body Leena Khandwala, managing attorney for DDDI at Rutgers Law School, told the committee detained removal proceedings are fast, complex and carry high stakes; nationally only a small share of detained individuals lacking counsel secure relief. She said that, in recent years, New Jersey’s program enabled counsel for hundreds of residents; state expansion is needed so more detained New Jersey residents have access to representation.
Speakers noted that, nationwide, the federal government’s FY25 decisions have curtailed some federal legal‑service contracts and that a proposed contract to reopen Delaney Hall in Newark would add roughly 1,000 detention beds — potentially the largest expansion of detention capacity in the state. Witnesses urged the Legislature to sustain and increase DDDI funding to $19,500,000 to meet projected demand and to consider complementary protections such as an Immigrant Trust Act to limit local‑law‑enforcement cooperation with immigration enforcement.
Ending Advocates said state investments in legal representation reduce wrongful deportations, speed case resolution and reconnect families; they asked the committee to restore the DDDI funding level and to protect application‑level legal supports for children and other vulnerable groups.
