‘The reality is that this is a rogue administration that has handed undue power to agencies, to ICE agents and to entities like GEO Group, who are now acting with impunity. …As congressmembers, as senators, across this country, we need to descend on these facilities and, first and foremost, bear witness. …The only ones that are successfully able to conduct the kind of oversight these places need, are members of Congress and the Senate. So, I implore all of my colleagues to act as witnesses, to bear witness of what is happening across the country.’ – Congresswoman Analilia Mejía of New Jersey
Editor’s note: The following is a transcript from a show about the Delaney Hall ICE jail in Newark, NJ, that aired on Democracy Now! on May 29, and is reprinted here under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. There have been recent reports of detainees being beaten, gassed and pepper-sprayed inside Delaney Hall, with some hospitalized, and of protesters outside the facility being subjected to unnecessary force by ICE.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in New Jersey, where protests are continuing outside the Newark ICE jail known as Delaney Hall, where hundreds of detained immigrants have been on a hunger and labor strike for a week demanding their immediate release. The families of detained immigrants on May 28 denounced ICE’s retaliation against the hunger and labor strikers. Activists also said they had received several calls from immigrants inside Delaney reporting guards had pepper-sprayed and beaten detainees. At least six people were reportedly arrested Wednesday as activists and family members of detained immigrants formed a barricade outside the ICE jail despite repeated attempts by ICE and law enforcement to violently break up the demonstrations. On Wednesday, the executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, Amol Sinha, spoke to people outside Delaney Hall:
AMOL SINHA: DHS is retaliating against people for exercising those constitutional rights. People shouldn’t have to starve themselves to make their dignity known. And not only is DHS illegally violating due process for those who are detained, they’re also illegally obstructing elected officials from gaining access to the facility, and they’re violating the Constitution for people outside by brutalizing protesters who dare to exercise their constitutional rights. Their response to the very real issues that people are facing inside, and the very real constitutional rights that people are trying to exercise outside, is not to solve the problems. It’s to suppress them. It’s to brutalize people. It’s to use more force. And it’s to endanger lives. They are the ones who are escalating the situation. This entire administration is operating with illegality. The cruelty is the point.
AMY GOODMAN: On May 27, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed during a Cabinet meeting the prisoners at Delaney Hall are only on hunger strike because they want their, quote-unquote, “ethnic food:”
DHS SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN: They say that they’re — that it’s because they’re on a hunger strike, when there was only individuals that was refusing to eat because they want their ethnic group — or, their ethnic right food. Well, they can go back to the country and get whatever food they want. The fact is, we’re giving them the calories they want. This isn’t Holiday Inn. We’re giving sanitation.
AMY GOODMAN: For the latest on the situation at Delaney Hall, we’re joined now by three guests. Li Adorno is an organizer with Movimiento Cosecha, the immigrant rights group leading the protests outside Delaney Hall. Bob Hennelly is also with us. He’s an investigative journalist, host of What’s Going On! Labor Monday at WBAI. He’s the general manager of the Pacifica station WBAI, as well. He’s been covering the protests at Delaney Hall from the start and has covered New Jersey politics for decades. And Democratic Congressmember Analilia Mejía of New Jersey is with us. She’s called for the closure of Delaney Hall and has toured the jail.
We welcome you all to Democracy Now! Let’s begin with Li Adorno. Explain what’s just intensified and taken place yesterday, Li Adorno. You are one of the major organizers of the protests outside. If you can tell us what’s happened?
LI ADORNO: Yeah, so, things have been escalating as of our last talk, not only inside the detention center, outside the detention center. The way that things are being done have, like, definitely escalated. We got a call, and then a call after and a call after, about things happening inside the detention center. They said that there was a lot of — a lot of guards coming to the rooms, and there was pepper spray. One person saw another person unconscious. These things, for us, we had to, like, start calling people. And yeah, we can’t fathom with the fact that they’re getting away with this type of treatment. People right now, like families outside, are coming out, calling us. They’re worried about what’s going on. And when there is an attempt to get that clarification via our representatives, they are denied entry. So, yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Li, let’s bring Analilia Mejía into this conversation, the Democratic Congressmember Mejía. You’ve called for the closure of Delaney Hall, and you were able to tour the facility. Can you describe this confrontation? And who exactly is making the arrests? Are we talking about Newark police, under Mayor Ras Baraka, or ICE agents?
REP. ANALILIA MEJÍA: Well, first and foremost, thank you for having me on today’s show. And to your listeners, this is a serious moment.
As you shared, I have been able to tour the facility. I’ve also been an activist and an organizer trying to ensure the decent treatment of human beings that are being detained, many of which do not have criminal records, do not have violent offenses — offense charges against them. Now, many of the individuals that I’ve spoken to within Delaney Hall were following the law. They were attempting to go to a court-appointed date with ICE agents. They were attempting to check in, and then they were detained. I spoke to a 19-year-old girl who went to a detention center to visit a friend, believing that because of her protective status, that she would be all right, and then she was detained at the end of that visit.
You know, the conditions within it — I’ve visited at this point three times. I’ve been in Congress for a month at this point. I was just elected. But I’ve made a point to go into Delaney. And each time that I have entered, I’ve heard the same thing: complaints of inadequate healthcare. I met mothers who had — who were — or, expectant mothers who weren’t receiving the kind of prenatal care that I know they deserve and need and require. I met a young woman who had had a miscarriage and was given — or, was experiencing symptoms of a miscarriage and was given a warming cloth, a hot compress, which she believed actually exacerbated the problem and resulted in, ultimately, her losing that pregnancy. I met individuals who have diabetes or heart conditions, who complained that their medication isn’t given on a routine basis. And when I asked the GEO Group staff, many of which, I am sure, are trying to do their best, it is clear that they do not have the ability to actually provide the kind of services that human beings require. You know, one nurse, I asked whether or not individuals would miss their medication. What were the reasons that someone would possibly not get their diabetes medication or their heart medication? And she pointed to the fact that there’s no pharmacy in the place, so, you know, there’s, of course, a delay in getting people there the medication that they need. The other reality is that if you’re grabbing people off the streets, they’re not able to have all of the things that are required in order to keep them healthy.
Now, as to this issue, this incident in particular, we were able to confirm that pepper spray was deployed in the hallways of one of the units, specifically Unit 2, we were told. We weren’t allowed to visit. It was put on lockdown and restriction. We weren’t allowed to speak to the individuals that, according to GEO Group and according to ICE, had an altercation, and that was the reason behind the commotion internally.
But here’s what I have been able to confirm. I spoke to one of the individuals whose wife, Mr. Martín Soto, had started much of the — of shedding light to the conditions in Delaney Hall. I know that he was transferred. I know that he wasn’t made aware of charges that were placed against him. In fact, myself and Congressman Menendez were the ones who informed him that we believe that he was being charged with some kind of complaint, and the individual hadn’t even received that information. Much of the material is in English, so many of the individuals cannot actually defend themselves, understand what is happening.
And overall, like, the complaints of lack of care, of the paltry food, the fact that it is often undercooked or frozen or too salty or too spicy, I mean, conditions that may seem, you know, irrelevant to Trump administration officials, but when you consider that people are elderly and have sodium intake restrictions or pregnant and have certain dietary restrictions, then the quality of food really does matter.
And ultimately, what the American people — I’ll leave it at this. What we need to understand is that this is a for-profit model, and they are failing human beings. GEO Group has a $1 billion contract with the U.S. government. GEO Group makes about $60 million in annual revenue from these contracts, from this contract. And so, the American people need to understand that your money is being used to house people in conditions that are unjust and inhumane. Your money is being used to keep people in detention who have signed voluntary removal orders. I’ve taken down countless names of individuals who have said, “I will leave today. I would like to. I have my passport, or it’s been confiscated by these agents. And yet I’m still here a month, two months, three months after the fact.” Well, it’s your money that’s being used to detain people in horrible conditions and keep them even when they have asked to leave.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I’d like to bring in Bob Hennelly into the conversation. Bob, you’re a longtime investigative journalist. You’ve covered New Jersey for decades. Your perspective, especially on the escalating violence and use of force outside Delaney Hall by federal agents?
BOB HENNELLY: So, first, I think it’s important to understand, Juan, that Newark was fixated on very early on. Unfortunately, Newark has been introduced because of the great tragedy in Minneapolis, the assassination of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. But in point of fact, just days after President Trump was sworn in a second time, they went in and raided a very popular Ironbound, same community, same neighborhood that this detention facility is in, roughed up a veteran, messed with citizens, and immediately Ras Baraka convened a press conference that was packed with 300 people, showing the multiracial mosaic and the strong resistance.
And so, it’s also important to know that on May 9th of 2025, Mayor Baraka was seized off the street outside of Delaney Hall, taken inside, but it was the, I would say, Gandhi-esque move by Bonnie Watson Coleman, 80 years old, Representative McIver, Robert Menendez Jr., who encircled him to slow down the seizing of an elected mayor of New Jersey’s biggest city. And what happened next was he was taken to a black site, that nobody knew existed, near the airport. Immediately, hundreds and hundreds of people from the community and from out the region encircled this facility, Juan, backed up by the Newark police force. That’s right, the same police force that a generation earlier had beaten up Ras Baraka’s father, the poet Amiri Baraka, were there in solidarity. So they had no choice but to release the mayor. That story is important here, because that happened on May 9th, 2025. And subsequently, Representative McIver, who represents that area, has been charged with crimes and faces 17 years in jail.
So, there’s a much broader implosion of the administration of law in New Jersey, with a — Alina Habba was appointed as U.S. attorney. There’s a collapse, really, of federal law enforcement in Newark, where people are issued habeas corpus petitions by an Article III court, Juan, and it’s ignored entirely by the Department of Justice ICE system.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to also ask Li Adorno this — you’ve gotten information, as well, that people are being brought into Delaney from New York or other places. Could you talk about that, as well?
LI ADORNO: Yes, they’re coming from New York, as well. There’s actually, like, some rooms in the unit that’s specifically for New York.
And I want to — I want to kind of like — I realize I’m assuming everybody has been keeping up with the news. But we have been able to confirm that two people were hospitalized. I mean, that’s already, in itself, a very serious situation. We were called that people had head injuries, that they had hand injuries, that, you know, they were sprayed with this chemical that turned out to be CC spray.
There was reported that also there was multiple — like, multiple agents, like over 10 agents, over 20 agents, who were partaken — that was now clarified that it was actually GEO CERT, which is a specific group that they have, I guess, that dresses all in black. And not, like, only that they intimidate purposefully — right? — that that’s how they dress, but also that they were the ones who were doing this action against the unit.
AMY GOODMAN: Bob Hennelly, was there a death in custody?
BOB HENNELLY: Yes, there was. Actually, back in December, Jean Wilson Brutus, who was from Haiti — his family insists that he was cleared to be in the country. He died at 41, the first day he was there. And so, this is also part of a troubling trend. We saw, so far, I believe, 18 have died in custody. But then, if you look at all of last year, it was 32, the highest number since 2004.
So, something’s happening here beyond the accountability of local law enforcement. And that’s what’s of great concern here, is a subversion of law and order. So, you have a mayor who is trying to enforce the fire code — heaven forbid if a fire breaks out in that sprawling facility. We need to tell you that this is in a remote part of Newark, in the most industrial part. It’s right next to the Essex County Corrections Facility. There’s no shade. There’s no shelter.
And I just also want to say, the letters that have been coming out from these brave detainees, it’s ironic that it’s — we have the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. I predict 40 years from now that these documents that are coming out are going to be seen as similar in terms of the humanity and the importance of what they contain.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And I wanted to ask Congressmember Mejía — obviously, the governor of New Jersey, the mayor of Newark, the local political officials haven’t been able to do anything. Can you briefly tell us what hope do you have that, somehow or other, Congress will step in?
REP. ANALILIA MEJÍA: Well, first, I want to confirm that we were, in fact, told that four people were taken to the hospital. I was able to see in the medical unit other individuals who were impacted by the release of whatever chemical or pepper spray was deployed. I also saw the agents that were dressed from head to toe in black, with face coverings, that were milling about within Delaney Hall. And I did note — in this third visit yesterday, I did note that there were more agents, more heavily armed agents, more ICE agents with additional arms and gear, that were present in the facility. So, much of what the activists are pointing to, I’ve been able to confirm real time.
I will say that the reality is that this is a rogue administration that has handed undue power to agencies, to ICE agents and to entities like GEO Group, who are now acting with impunity. I think our role in Congress as congressmembers, as senators, across this country, we need to descend on these facilities and, first and foremost, bear witness. Please take into account that these individuals are being silenced. Their families are denied visitation after — as a punitive measure. And the only ones that are successfully able to conduct the kind of oversight this place needs, or these places need, are members of Congress and the Senate. So, I implore all of my colleagues to act as witnesses, to bear witness of what is happening across the country, because I’m certain that GEO Group and Delaney Hall are not the only ones.
AMY GOODMAN: And I’m looking at posters for ICE protests through the weekend at Delaney Hall. I wanted to end by asking, Congressmember, you replaced Mikie Sherrill in a special election, the congressmember from New Jersey, because she was elected governor of New Jersey. She also, over Memorial Day weekend, went to Delaney Hall. She was denied entry. You were able to get in; she wasn’t. Was the governor of New Jersey able finally to inspect the facility?
REP. ANALILIA MEJÍA: As I understand, Department of Health officials were deployed to Delaney. I haven’t confirmed with the governor if they were able to actually go to enter the facility. I can share that myself, Congresswoman Pou, Congressman Menendez and Congressman Pallone, we — and, forgive me, Congresswoman McIver — we pleaded with ICE to allow us to — to Delaney Hall officials to allow us to escort the governor with us, that if we were being allowed to enter, that she certainly should be able to, being the highest-ranking elected official in New Jersey. It is unconscionable that the governor of New Jersey was denied access.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we want to thank you all for being with us. We’ll continue to follow this. And I know, Bob Hennelly, you have been doing, with the team at WBAI Pacifica Radio, nonstop coverage of what’s taking place. Bob Hennelly is the general manager of WBAI, has reported on these issues and New Jersey politics for 40 years. He’s speaking to us from New Jersey. Li Adorno, community organizer with Movimiento Cosecha, has helped lead the protests outside Delaney Hall. And we want to thank the newly elected Congressmember Analilia Mejía, who represents Jersey’s 11th District and has called for Delaney Hall’s closure.
