Tense protests erupt outside Delaney Hall immigrant detention centre in US
The centre, located outside Newark, New Jersey, has long been controversial.Reopened in February 2025 after a period of closure, Delaney Hall is part of a web of immigration detention centres designed to accommodate the thousands of immigrants Trump seeks to expel in his second term.Local officials, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, have maintained that the facility was repurposed without the proper permits and approvals. Critics have also decried the conditions inside the facility, claiming human rights abuses.The latest round of protests has been unfolding this month in response to reports that detainees are staging a hunger strike inside Delaney Hall.New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said that health authorities seeking to inspect the facility were denied full access.“As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said in a statement on Thursday.Elected last year, the Democratic governor has backed calls for the facility to be closed.On Wednesday night, protesters clashed with law enforcement as they attempted to block access to Delaney Hall.Demonstrators, some wearing gas masks, erected makeshift barriers and linked arms to form a human chain.According to the Department of Homeland Security, six demonstrators had been arrested for allegedly assaulting federal agents overnight.“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony,” the department said in a statement. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”But some critics have questioned the charges the Trump administration has filed against the Delaney Hall protesters. A year ago, in May 2025, Mayor Baraka was arrested during a protest for alleged trespassing.The Trump administration quickly dropped the charges, but it then proceeded to charge a US Congress member who was in attendance, LaMonica McIver, with assault. She has denied the charges as “purely political”.Democratic lawmakers like McIver have arrived at Delaney Hall to exercise their congressional oversight duties and tour the facilities.On Wednesday night, three US representatives — Jerry Nadler, Daniel Goldman and Adriano Espaillat — inspected the centre. They described dire conditions, including medical neglect and spoiled food.Representative Frank Pallone, who previously visited the facility, said he witnessed similar conditions.“I saw it with my own eyes: moldy food. People needing immediate medical attention who can’t see a doctor for over a week or who can’t get their medicine,” he said in a social media post.But the Trump administration has faced accusations that it has attempted to conceal the poor conditions in detention facilities around the country.Earlier this week, for instance, Governor Sherrill was reportedly denied access when she attempted to access Delaney Hall for an inspection. Members of Congress have said they too were turned away at other facilities, in defiance of their legal oversight authority.A report from CNN found that 50 immigrants nationwide have died in detention during Trump’s second term in office, the most in at least two decades.Delaney Hall is currently run by a private contractor, GEO Group, as part of a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
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