New Jersey governor denied entry to Delaney Hall as ICE detainee strike continues (5:10 p.m update)
A growing crowd of protesters faced off with ICE agents in tactical gear outside Delaney Hall on Monday afternoon.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill joined federal lawmakers Monday morning outside Delaney Hall in Newark for her first visit to the ICE detention facility, but she was denied entry as protests and a hunger strike continued for a fourth day.
Protesters faced off with ICE agents on Monday afternoon as ICE threatened to transfer more than 100 detainees involved in a hunger strike to Louisiana and Texas. Sen. Andy Kim remained at the facility, trying to negotiate with ICE not to transfer the detainees.
At about 5 p.m. Monday, agents fired rubber bullets at protesters and pepper sprayed them.
Sherrill’s visit
Sherrill arrived around 10:30 a.m. and remained outside the facility, where she talked with families of detainees near the gates.
“My request for access to Delaney Hall was formally denied this morning, raising serious questions about what they are trying to hide from public view,” Sherrill said in a written statement after the visit. “I came today to hear from families and advocates, and what I heard from them was heartbreaking.”
Sherrill said she had long opposed private detention facilities, would continue to advocate for the closure of Delaney Hall, and would oppose any expansion of mass detention facilities in New Jersey, including the proposed immigrant detention warehouse in Roxbury.
“The people inside Delaney Hall are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and members of our community,” Sherrill said. “In New Jersey, we believe in the rule of law and that everyone deserves to be treated with basic dignity. We have a duty to safeguard the rights, health, and well-being of everyone within our borders.”
Sherrill vowed to continue holding ICE accountable and thanked New Jersey’s federal delegation members who joined her at Delaney Hall on Monday, including Sen. Andy Kim and Reps. Rob Menendez, Nellie Pou, LaMonica McIver, and Analilia Mejia.
“They have been tireless in using their federal oversight authority to bring accountability to the facility,” she said. “I will continue working closely with them to demand answers, protect constitutional rights, and ensure humane conditions.”
Unlike members of Congress, Sherrill does not have federal oversight authority to enter the facility. On Saturday evening, Sen. Kim and Rep. Menendez visited Delaney Hall for a congressional oversight visit.
Menendez returned to Delaney Hall on Sunday and tried to enter the facility to make sure detainees on strike were not being mistreated, but was not allowed inside. He stayed outside with protesters through the night and into Monday morning.
Pallone returns
Rep. Frank Pallone, who visited Delaney Hall earlier this year and returned Monday afternoon, issued a statement Monday saying he was shocked by conditions inside the facility during his earlier visit and disgusted that conditions continued to worsen.
“People are languishing without knowing if they’ll have enough to eat or if they’ll be able to receive medical care if they get sick. This is in addition to ICE’s indiscriminate actions in our neighborhoods and communities. It’s a cruel, coordinated campaign, and it’s a disgrace,” Pallone said.
“Delaney Hall cannot continue to generate profit on the back of horrendous human suffering,” Pallone said. “I stand firmly in support of the brave detainees inside the facility and the protesters outside who are standing up for what’s right. I will continue to call for accountability and carry out oversight of this facility.”
The hunger and labor strike by about 300 detainees began inside Delaney Hall on Friday morning. Activists and families of detainees began a round-the-clock rally outside the facility when the strike was announced and remained there throughout the weekend. Activists said the hunger strike would not end until detainees inside were given the opportunity to speak with the governor.
DHS responds
Department of Homeland Security officials released a statement through a spokesman Monday afternoon, saying Sen. Kim was allowed into Delaney Hall to conduct his congressional oversight visit after Kim called DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
“Governor Sherrill’s visit to Delaney Hall is nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day when visitation is currently suspended due to riots outside the facility,” the spokesman said. “Yesterday, approximately 125 agitators surrounded Delaney Hall Detention Facility, many carrying anti-ICE signs and Antifa flags. They formed a human chain around entrances to the facility and set up barricades, blocking all entries and exits.”
A Jersey Vindicator reporter was at Delaney Hall over the weekend and did not see any Antifa flags. Many protesters carried posters and chanted anti-ICE slogans.
The spokesman said all detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries.
“Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” the spokesman said.
“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” the spokesman continued. “This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. For many illegal aliens, this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”
Sen. Kim and Rep. Menendez contradicted the Department of Homeland Security’s statement after their Saturday visit, saying the facility had filthy bathrooms, inadequate medical care, and some abusive guards.
Protest grows
Tensions between protesters and federal agents escalated Sunday afternoon when a detainee who helped organize the strike was removed from the facility and placed into a van for transfer to another immigration detention center. The move prompted protesters outside to block the vehicle from leaving.
Activists and the detainee’s wife, Gabriela Soto, identified the detainee as Martin Soto. His wife said on Monday that her husband had been told by guards he was being released. Instead, he was being transferred.
Protesters continued blocking the van Sunday night, but allowed other vehicles to leave the facility. Agents used tear gas to disperse protesters early Sunday morning. Protesters later discovered Martin Soto had been moved to the Elizabeth Detention Center through another Delaney Hall exit early Sunday morning.
Rep. Rob Menendez, who remained outside the facility Monday afternoon, confirmed that Martin Soto had been moved to the Elizabeth ICE facility.
“We’re going to go do an oversight visit there to check on him,” Menendez said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Frank Pallone returned to inspect the ICE facility again on Monday afternoon. After exiting, they made their way to the crowd outside.
The number of protesters outside Delaney Hall continued to grow as the day went on. Activists advised families of detainees to go home for their safety. ICE deployed agents in military gear and brought in a heavily armored tactical BearCat vehicle equipped with a mount and gun capable of deploying pepper spray or rubber bullets. An ICE agent repeatedly pointed the gun at the crowd.
Protesters stood their ground, beat drums, and chanted slogans, including “No KKK, no fascist USA.”
At about 5 p.m., agents used rubber bullets an tear gas on protesters to try to drive them away.
Advocates point to Andy Kim as a role model for elected officials
While some activists were glad the governor showed up Monday morning, others asked why it took her so long. Kathy O’Leary, coordinator of Pax Christi New Jersey, said Sherrill did not make an attempt to go to the gates and ask to be let in when she arrived.
“She let somebody tell her she wasn’t going to be let in, and then she talked to families, which is good,” O’Leary said. “But then she just left. She spent an hour here, total. I mean, she would have spent that much time at a ribbon-cutting.”
O’Leary also said that when Sherrill was in Congress, she repeatedly voted for funding for ICE.
“She has as much responsibility for this place being here as the other congresspeople do, and yet she’s kind of acting like, ‘Oh, there’s nothing I can do here.’ And she’s moving on. She treated this like a photo op,” O’Leary said.
“Andy Kim is still here. Of course he is. That’s what we expect of our elected officials, and here we have it,” O’Leary said. “You have the model. I don’t get why they don’t understand that this is what they should be doing. He’s showing that it’s possible. He’s showing what they can do, and yet they all continue to act the way they act.”
Reporter Steve Janoski contributed to this report. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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Krystal Knapp is the founder of The Jersey Vindicator and the hyperlocal news website Planet Princeton. Previously she was a reporter at The Trenton Times for a decade.