NJ Gov. Sherrill allowed inside Delaney Hall ICE detention center
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill was permitted to inspect the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark on Monday morning, but was not allowed to speak with any detainees, according to the governor’s office.
“What I received was a closely controlled and limited tour of the facility,” Sherrill said in a statement after the visit, which followed a prior denial of access. “That is unacceptable.” She added that being unable to speak with detainees “continues to raise serious questions about the real conditions of the facility and the treatment of those held there,” and said she will continue pushing for the facility’s closure.
Sherrill’s roughly one-hour tour began just before 8 a.m. and included the law library, medical unit, kitchen, cafeteria, visitation area, and a male housing unit, specifically Units 2A and 2B, according to ICE spokesperson Christine Cuttita.
Delaney Hall has become a flashpoint in the national immigration debate amid recent labor and hunger strikes by detainees protesting conditions. Detainees have alleged rotten food, limited healthcare and legal access, unsanitary conditions, and retaliatory transfers, while ICE and GEO Group deny the claims.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement have also arrested dozens of protesters outside the facility in recent weeks.
The Department of Homeland Security says it detains the “worst of the worst,” but a Gothamist analysis of internal data found most detainees at Delaney Hall have no criminal history.
Sherrill’s visit came after New Jersey sued GEO Group, the Florida-based private company that operates Delaney Hall, to force a health inspection after inspectors were denied access to parts of the facility.
