Chaos unfolded at a migrant detention center in Newark on Thursday night amid reports that federal officials aren’t properly feeding detainees inside Delaney Hall.
Much about the situation is unclear: An attorney for a detainee in the facility told NJ Advance Media that officials failed to offer timely and sufficient meals, and said people inside tore down a wall when meals were hours late. Some local news sources, citing unnamed officials, report that four detainees are unaccounted for, but federal officials have not made a statement on the ordeal.
Videos posted online from the NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice show minor clashes between protesters and Delaney Hall officials, including the use of pepper spray against demonstrators forming a barricade outside the facility (Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pepper-sprayed at least one journalist, Jersey Vindicator photojournalist Andres Kudacki, according to one of the outlet’s directors).
GEO Group, the private-prison company that operates Delaney Hall, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday morning. ICE deferred comment to the Department of Homeland Security, which has not immediately returned a request for comment.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka issued a statement just after midnight to “demand immediate answers” from GEO Group and the Department of Homeland Security.
“We are concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees,” Baraka said. “This entire situation lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights. This is why city officials and our congressional delegation need to be allowed entry to observe and monitor, [and] why private prisons pose a very real problem to our state and its constitution.”
Since the second inauguration of President Donald Trump, Delaney Hall has served as New Jersey’s epicenter for tensions between federal immigration officials and immigration advocates. Baraka was himself arrested for trespassing outside the facility in May; charges were later dismissed by a federal judge, who reprimanded the federal prosecutors who had pressed the issue. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-Newark) was indicted earlier this week for assault charges stemming from a scuffle during Baraka’s arrest. She’s called those allegations false and politically motivated.
The 1,100-bed Delaney Hall reopened in May amid the Trump administration’s push to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in the country. Earlier this year, ICE signed a 15-year contract to use the facility for about $60 million per year. Baraka and other Democrats have said the facility is operating without the required permits and certificates; Newark is currently suing GEO Group over the matter.
Thursday night’s disorder is just the latest escalation of tensions at Delaney Hall: Protesters have shown up outside the facility regularly over the last month and a half, and Baraka’s arrest came when McIver and two other House Democrats visited the facility for oversight.
In a statement Thursday night, McIver said her office is monitoring the incident and trying to learn more.
“I have serious concerns about the reports of abusive circumstances at the facility,” the congresswoman said. “Even now, we are hearing reports from news organizations and advocates on the ground about a lack of food and basic rights for those inside, the administration appears to be stonewalling efforts to learn the truth.”
In a statement about various demonstrations in the state this week, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said state officials are aware of the “incident,” but he did not (or possibly was unable to) provide further details.
“We are also aware of and closely coordinating with federal partners with respect to the reported incident at Delaney Hall in Newark,” he wrote.
In a social media post, the NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice said that, in addition to insufficient meals, “boiling” water was coming from the facility’s pipes, and visitation hours for detainees have been canceled multiple times. The New York Times reported masked agents carried plastic handcuffs and pepper spray into the building Thursday evening.
McIver, whose indictment has earned national attention, said her office is still in the dark on what’s happening in Delaney Hall.
“My office has reached out to ICE for answers,” McIver said. “ICE has not yet provided them.”