Commentary: New Jersey Township Could Use Zoning Law to Block ICE Facility

The New Jersey township of Roxbury approved a resolution opposing the repurposing of a vacant warehouse into an ICE detention facility.

While the resolution asserts the town’s stance on the issue, a piece by Guy Citron in Insider NJ argues that the township could do more to ensure the federal government doesn’t build immigration detention facilities in their jurisdiction by issuing a land use ordinance prohibiting the use. “Even when a town does not ban such facilities outright, it may impose performance standards these operations cannot realistically meet, such as: distance from homes, schools, and houses of worship; limits on fencing, floodlighting, or armed security; caps on traffic, noise, and demands on emergency services. And like any other commercial business, they also require permits, site plans, certificates of occupancy, and compliance with fire, health, and stormwater codes.”

The article argues that land use ordinances are well within the rights of local governments, and that residents concerned about immigration detention facilities can lobby their elected officials to use their zoning code to regulate them. “[W]hen your town adopts clear zoning rules and enforceable standards for what uses are permissible, it is not making a partisan statement. It is exercising lawful self-government.”