Hudson County will be ending its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain immigrants in their Correctional Facility on November 1st, according to the Hudson County View.

The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, and The Bronx Defenders – New York City’s defender organizations providing free legal representation to detained immigrants through the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP) – called on ICE to release immigrants detained at that facility rather than transfer them to other facilities, away from their families, counsel, and communities.

“ICE enforcement and detention is racist, unnecessary, and dangerous. It tears families apart, inflicts lifelong trauma, deprives people of basic human rights and needs, and it kills,” said NYIFUP in a joint statement.

“With Hudson County exiting its contract with ICE, there will be one fewer jail in which ICE can incarcerate people simply because of where they were born. The end of this contract represents an important first step, but a true victory will result in ending ICE detention nationwide. ICE retains discretion to detain and release individuals, although immigration enforcement is a civil – not criminal – matter.”