Letter describes poor conditions, medical neglect, and threats; New Jersey lawmakers seek answers from federal officials.

Days after violent protests rocked the streets outside Newark’s Delaney Hall, immigrant detainees held inside the facility issued an open letter in which they lamented their living conditions, complained of retaliation after a hunger strike, and called for their release.

Dubbed “We Demand Freedom,” the letter is the fourth of its kind to be smuggled out of the controversial immigrant detention center in recent weeks. Signed by 56 people, it detailed allegations of “reprisals, discrimination, mockery, mistreatment, and threats” by the GEO Group, the private prison firm that runs the site.

The detainees spoke of one incident in particular: a May 25 meeting in which the facility’s director and others tried to identify the leader of a 300-person hunger strike that began May 22.

When the detainees said the collective effort had no leader, GEO Group staff allegedly retaliated against a young man who was translating for them by leading him away in handcuffs.

“All of us, seeing the injustice, wanted to prevent [this] by peacefully blocking their path with our hands raised so that they wouldn’t take him away,” the letter said. “In return, we received from them beatings, pepper spray, and from [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement], a riot squad came up spraying pepper spray throughout the facility, causing many people to be rushed to the hospital — one due to the beatings and others affected by the gas.”

More than a week later, the detainees said they’re unsure what happened to the victims. They added that GEO Group has restricted access to tablets, family visits, and the common room.

“They constantly threaten to deport us, transfer us to punishment units, and move us from one detention center to another; they take photos of us in the dormitories without our consent and tell us that we have no rights here,” the letter said. “As a result of all this, we feel psychologically impacted and are plagued by the fear that they might carry out their threats for no reason at all.”

Detainees have complained about the wretched conditions inside the 1,000-bed facility on Doremus Avenue since it opened last spring, including allegations of foul-tasting water, inedible food, medical neglect, filthy bathrooms, and a ventilation system that has fallen into disrepair.

“We are constantly sick,” the letter said. “The conditions in this prison are not fit for human beings over such a long period of time.”

The letter also took issue with how immigration judges have handled detainees’ cases and asked that they be released under supervision instead of being held in the makeshift penitentiary.

“We deserve to be free and to complete the process at home with our families, given the excessive amount of time we have spent in this prison,” it said. “We demand freedom, a fair trial, and for our rights to be respected.”

Despite the grievances, activists and family members of the detained have said conditions have not improved. That led to the labor and hunger strike, which quickly drew attention to their plight and brought politicians and protesters to the scene.

Starting Memorial Day weekend, those protesters repeatedly clashed with ICE agents, Department of Homeland Security personnel, and New Jersey State Police.

The state is suing GEO Group after the firm allegedly turned away state health inspectors sent to make sure the detention center is safe and sanitary.

New Jersey’s congressional delegation has also been pushing for information about medical care at the facility.

On June 3, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, D-8th Dist., led members of the state’s Democratic delegation in demanding answers from federal immigration officials over what they described as systematic medical neglect at Delaney Hall. The lawmakers cited ongoing complaints from detainees and linked the concerns to the hunger strike that began in late May.

In a letter to Department of Homeland Security officials and senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership, the lawmakers alleged extensive violations of detention standards and failures to provide adequate medical care. They called for the immediate release of medically vulnerable detainees and demanded records related to medical requests, hospital transfers, prescription medication access, and staffing levels at the facility.

Menendez said the congressional effort follows 15 oversight visits he has made to Delaney Hall since the facility opened.

“In my repeated oversight visits to Delaney Hall, I have heard deeply concerning accounts of medical neglect,” Menendez said. “From denying critical access to care, to withholding prescription medications, to keeping people in medical isolation for months, these inhumane conditions have caused needless suffering and preventable harm to people detained at the facility.”

The congressman said lawmakers are seeking both immediate action and long-term changes at the Newark detention center.

“Our fight will continue until Delaney Hall is permanently closed,” he said.

According to the lawmakers, detainees have reported delayed or denied medical treatment, the abrupt discontinuation of medications, inappropriate use of medical isolation, inadequate management of chronic medical conditions, and severe staffing shortages among medical personnel.

The letter argues that federal detention standards governing medical treatment are mandatory and that immigration officials have a legal obligation to protect the health and safety of people in custody.

Among other demands, the delegation called for the permanent closure of Delaney Hall, the release of medically vulnerable detainees while their immigration cases proceed, and the production of documents related to the facility’s medical operations.

The lawmakers also requested detailed responses regarding emergency medical care, hospitalizations, access to prescription medications, and day-to-day facility operations.

Menendez and the other members of the delegation said they intend to continue investigating conditions at Delaney Hall and pledged to use congressional oversight authority to monitor the facility’s compliance with federal detention standards.