Governor says restrictions during Newark detention center tour raise questions about conditions inside

Gov. Mikie Sherrill was finally allowed to visit Newark’s Delaney Hall on Monday, but wasn’t permitted to speak with any detainees during what she called a “closely controlled” tour of the controversial immigrant detention center.

The governor was asked to come to the 1,000-bed facility last month by about 300 detainees who launched a hunger and labor strike in protest of what they’ve described as wretched living conditions inside the lockup.

She said when she visited Delaney Hall on Monday, her hosts denied her the chance to meet with detainees during her limited inspection, a restriction she called unacceptable.

“[It] raises serious questions about the real conditions of the facility and the treatment of those held there,” she said in a statement. “I will continue to push to speak with the detainees directly. They deserve to be heard and the public deserves answers.”

Don’t miss the NJ stories that matter. Sign up for our free newsletter  →

Sherrill, a first-term Democrat, is the latest elected official to inspect the Doremus Avenue fortress, which has been the site of fervent protests over how the federal government and its contractors care for detainees swept up in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration raids.

A spokesperson for GEO Group, the private prison firm that runs the detention center, would not say who escorted Sherrill through the facility and referred all inquiries to ICE.

On Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued a bizarre statement to The Jersey Vindicator that sounded more like an open letter to the governor than a response to a press inquiry.

In the email, Mullin said he’d personally granted Sherrill access to Delaney Hall “as an act of good faith — despite you having exactly ZERO federal oversight authority.”

“You were told BEFORE you went in you would not have the ability to speak to detainees. This is a federal facility, Governor. You are NOT federally elected,” Mullin wrote. “Of course, you’re still trying to turn Delaney Hall into a political football for the radical left.”

Mullin then listed alleged health and safety concerns at New Jersey’s prisons before saying Sherrill should “focus on her own backyard, and put the safety of her own constituents above illegal aliens.”

The governor first tried to visit Delaney Hall, New Jersey’s largest detention center, on Memorial Day morning alongside a host of federal lawmakers. But she was turned away because of her lack of federal oversight authority.

She later said she would advocate for the complex’s closure.

Meanwhile, her administration has tried to stand up to ICE in court by filing a lawsuit to halt the construction of a mammoth detention center in Roxbury, as well as filing a complaint that aims to force the GEO Group to allow previously barred state health inspectors inside Delaney.

A state health department report filed earlier this month showed there might be reason for concern.

The inspectors, who conducted a limited review of the facility’s kitchens, found opportunities for cross-contamination because staff didn’t wash their hands; food that wasn’t cooked well enough; and cases of soda that were stored next to chemicals.

“Although immediate onsite training and education regarding proper cooling procedures were provided by NJDOH staff, the person in charge failed to demonstrate adequate active managerial control and oversight of food employees,” the report said. “This lack of supervision resulted in improper time and temperature control practices and the presence of temperature-abused food products.”

Sherrill has also announced the expanded funding for and availability of legal services meant to help immigrants facing detention and deportation.

But the governor has also taken fire from progressives, immigration activists, and others recently for the conduct of the New Jersey State Police, who took over security outside Delaney after protesters repeatedly clashed with ICE agents.

The move was meant to “lower the temperature” outside the facility, she said. But the State Police used tear gas, mounted officers, and controversial crowd-control techniques to control the situation.

Civil rights advocates have also said the troopers used unnecessary force against overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators and arrested at least two credentialed photojournalists.