1. United States
2. N.J.
3. Letter

We know you don’t care about immigrants- documented, in the process of documenting, or undocumented altogether. You don’t care about their constitutional rights. You don’t care about their children. What you DO seem to care about is money, so let’s talk about it! The proposed ICE detention facility in Roxbury threatens to burden residents with serious and lasting consequences. Because the warehouse will become federally owned and tax-exempt, Roxbury and Morris County stand to lose roughly $1.8 million in annual tax revenue, shifting costs onto local homeowners and schools. Officials have also warned that a large detention complex would strain infrastructure and increase traffic, wastewater, and demands on already limited emergency services in this suburban community. Breakdowns and maintenance fees cost tax-dollar money. Even more concerning are documented reports of federal immigration officers violating civil liberties and using force against residents in other communities. Citizens are suing in almost every state that ICE violence has occurred. Payouts will be large. Tax-dollars will likely fund them. Property value goes down when a town is home to a prison. How do you think property taxes will be affected when the prison in question is a series of chain link fences, cages, unsanitary conditions, and inhuman? Roxbury and its neighboring towns deserve safe neighborhoods, stable taxes, and accountable policing—not a detention facility that threatens our quality of life and community trust. Not a tax burden. Not an infrastructure issue. Not hate based crime proliferated by federal thugs. The detention center- ALL detention centers and ALL ICE related facilities, offices, etc., must be condemned and stopped immediately. Do something. We’re literally paying you to do something- and we know that money is something you understand.