Street clashes, a newly enacted nightly curfew, and conflicting federal and local claims over an alleged detainee hunger strike have placed a privately run immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, at the center of a widening legal and public safety crisis.
Newark officials issued a warning on Tuesday that they would broaden their existing legal action against the GEO Group if they are not allowed to inspect the Delaney Hall immigration detention complex.
Mayor Ras Baraka argued that a federal contract does not excuse a private enterprise from complying with state and local regulations. “This is a private facility – private workers – and they are subject to state and municipal laws,” Baraka said.
However, under GEO Group’s corporate policies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement controls access to the facility. GEO says it plays no role in permitting outside entry to the complexes it manages on behalf of the federal government.
The 1,000-bed detention center is one of 21 that GEO operates for ICE in 10 states.
Why Newark is pushing for access
Newark’s threat of legal action comes after days of protests, arrests and clashes outside the facility over allegations of inhumane conditions inside.
CNN reported that the detainees’ legal and personal representatives said a hunger and labor strike began over the Memorial Day weekend to draw attention to substandard and inhumane conditions. Detainees have complained about spoiled and expired food, some of it containing live worms, as well as inadequate medical care and unsanitary housing.
The controversy has pulled local, state and federal officials into overlapping disputes over detention conditions, city access and public safety outside the facility.
DHS denies claims about conditions
The Department of Homeland Security dismissed reports of an organized strike by detainees and denied that detainees are being held in substandard conditions.
“Sanctuary politicians are spreading categorically false smears about ICE’s Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey,” Lauren Bis, the acting assistant secretary of ICE, said in a statement. “These types of smears are inciting violent riots outside the ICE facility in New Jersey.”
“No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been better treated than illegal aliens,” Bis added. “They are provided 3 meals a day, medical care, and receive due process.”
DHS also said no detainees were beaten or attacked by ICE officers after a May 28 fight involving detainees. Staff used the minimum force necessary to de-escalate the situation, the department said.
Curfew, visitation and oversight visits
Protests continue under a nightly curfew that Baraka enacted after clashes outside Delaney Hall.
The curfew runs from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport confirmed multiple detentions after demonstrators refused to disperse after the restrictions took effect.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced on Sunday that federal officials had complied with directives to resume partial family access, with normal operating hours commencing on Monday.
Sherrill denounced violence by protesters who set fire to tires and launched objects at law enforcement officers.
Following a weekend walkthrough of the site, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., noted that his fact-finding mission revealed unhygienic conditions, substandard nutrition, and inadequate medical care. Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J., reported witnessing deficient medical provisions and severe, unlivable conditions.
While federal officials defend the facility’s conditions, corporate documents show that GEO Health Care Services, rather than the federal government, is directly responsible for administering around-the-clock medical care at Delaney Hall, as well as running its food services and a voluntary work program.
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