Ice could add 600 beds to New Jersey detention center, documents show

ACLU obtains documents showing agency's effort to expand state's detention capacity for undocumented immigrants

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials could add 600 beds to detain unauthorized immigrants in New Jersey, according to new documents obtained by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on Friday.

An additional 600 detainees could mark a significant increase in the number of people held in New Jersey. The Elizabeth detention center - the only facility in the state that holds detainees - can currently accommodate up to 300 detainees, the Bergen Record reported in April. There were 285 detainees in the facility as of the end of October, according to data analyzed by the Guardian from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.