Well as immigration groups prepare for a second Trump administration, multiple reports have been made that Ice or immigration, Customs and Enforcement is already ramping up efforts.

Documents recently obtained by the ACLU show Ice is trying to secure contracts for three new detention facilities here in the state.

While a state law outright banning the centers remains in limbo, some advocates fear it could make new Jersey a staging ground for mass deportations.

But a senior political correspondent, David Cruz reports it's not just the incoming administration at work.

Many of those plans originated under President Biden.

There is a palpable chill spreading through the immigrant community in new Jersey, where upwards of half a million residents are undocumented.

The incoming federal administration has made it clear that mass deportations are a top priority, but the push to fill detention centers and expand those detention has been underway for some time.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

So so this has been happening, you know, since, dividing administration took to took, took over when President Biden came into office.

There were about 13,000 people in detention.

That number has spiked up to almost 43,000 people in the tensions.

That number has tripled.

Almost, almost has tripled, since since he's taken office.

That's 43,000 people held in detention facilities, basically prisons around the country most often run by private operators like Tennessee based civic and Florida based Geo Group.

Billion dollar companies and industry leaders who make most of their money on lucrative contracts with the federal government.

The ACLU sued to get records that show Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ice has issued a request for proposals to expand capacity in new Jersey.

Facilities under consideration here include the Bo Robinson Treatment Center in Trenton, the Elizabeth Detention Center, and Delaney Hall in Newark.

All owned and or operated by CoreCivic or Geo Group.

It really is just a big business.

It's a really big business and, you know, when we are talking about some of the players in the space, including those that have responded to our RFPs in New Jersey or that are currently operating in new Jersey, these are very large private prison companies, essentially, that are also in the business of immigration detention.

Not that business was bad under Biden, but when you consider the scale of the Trump administration's deportation plan, investors have perked up since Election Day.

The companies whose executives were Trump contributors have seen their stock prices jump significantly for core civic over 50% in the past month, Geo Group up 74%.

And advocates say all that money is corrupting.

The policy has been out of the Martinez, who asked that we not show her face, says her husband Walden, who was in the U.S. without proper documentation, was picked up by Ice in April.

So in this video content, though, he decided out of desperation from being locked up to sign a voluntary deportation.

She says he signed months ago and he still hasn't been released to his home country yet, so Im pursuing every issue.

Esmeralda said that one of the guards told two guys that had been with Walden, that they had been there already three months waiting for their volunteer deportation, and they asked the guards, why are we still here?

And the guard said, because if we send you back to your country, we're not going to make any money.

It's hard to prove anecdotal evidence like that.

But one thing is certain immigrants of all statuses here are beginning to recede back into the shadows.

We hear stories of people who are too scared to register for health care, or to send their kids to public school or, you know, even to report things like wage theft or domestic violence.

They're nervous about interacting with state and local government agencies because they don't know if their information is going to get shared with Ice.

The Immigrant Trust Act legislation that would make permanent some of the protections already afforded by our so-called sanctuary state, is languishing in Trenton, making it possible for a new administration, perhaps one more aligned with the president elect, to simply erase them.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.