of federal court in Trenton is hearing oral arguments this week on a consequential case for New Jersey involving a lawsuit filed by CoreCivic that's the company running the state's last remaining Detention Center in Elizabeth it's challenging a state law Banning local jails from entering into new contracts to house Federal immigration detainees and has the backing of the Biden Administration as Ted Goldberg reports activists are fighting back outside a federal courthouse in Trenton protesters shouted in Spanish for lawyers to leave lawyers representing core Civic the company that owns the Elizabeth Detention Center or the EDC and the Department of Justice whatever moral High Ground the Democrats and Biden you know claimed during the Trump years when it comes to immigration they just seated today immigration Advocates were angry to see the Biden Administration sign a statement of interest in support of course Civic as the company challenges New Jersey's law Banning new contracts between ice and private detention centers for immigrants as part of the protests people who were kept in the EDC share their experiences for me being detained it was like you are dead that you can talk to the living yanet candelario was detained for more than a year after being accused of having a fake Cuban passport and spent seven months in Elizabeth every time you needed them to do their job and by then I'm in ice you have to go on a hunger strike so I shouldn't have to harm my body for you to do your job that you are getting paid by the government and taxpayer dollars like other detainees at the EDC She's accused ice of abuse and withholding medical care I was really pale and the other detainees went and told the officer you need to call Medical she doesn't look good she said that I'm not gonna call Medical because she's acting the officer shouted at me I wish you had a splotch I said to her you cannot talk to me like that and say yes this is America I can talk any way I want or if you don't like this go back to your country today was the first day of oral arguments in this case attorneys for core Civic and the Department of Justice argued that New Jersey's ban on private detention centers for immigrants is unconstitutional and would create widespread chaos if other states followed suit New Jersey's attorneys said there's no federal law conflicting with the law Governor Murphy signed into effect two years ago District Judge Robert Kirsch said a written decision would come down before August 31st the last day of core Civics contract with New Jersey an injunction against New Jersey's law would mean the EDC stays open systematic intimidation and retaliation this is normal and you know systematic neglect systematic like like when some incident no this this is procedure he wasn't buying the arguments of the of the state of New Jersey when it came to its rights to uh to regulate ice detention within the state it is very shocking though to hear the judge say things like um uh minimizing the fact that only two people have died as a direct result of uh being incarcerated at the Detention Facility Kirsch was referring to two deaths out of the thousands of people who go through the EDC and how it wouldn't be an outlier compared to jails and prisons we need to bring accountability to the people who are doing this in this system if you don't know an organization like mine you're screwed and almost 97 of people who represent themselves in Immigration Court lose I know somebody who was detained by ice for nine years protesters tell me they'll continue holding rallies until the written decision comes down in Trenton I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news