New Jersey health inspectors denied full access to Delaney Hall again, Sherrill says

Inspectors were denied access to the medical unit as the state investigates reports of unsafe conditions at the ICE detention center.

State health inspectors were denied full access to Newark’s Delaney Hall immigrant detention center for the second time in four weeks on Wednesday, even after following the facility operator’s instructions to arrange the inspection in advance, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said.

In a statement, Sherrill said inspectors with the New Jersey Department of Health were allowed to tour only portions of the Doremus Avenue detention center. She said they were barred from entering the medical unit and other areas, despite a state law requiring the department be given “full access” when it believes a public health violation may exist.

Sherrill called the denial “unacceptable” and said it raises serious questions about what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and GEO Group, the private company that operates the 1,000-bed detention center, are hiding inside the facility.

“Today, my health inspectors were once again denied full access to Delaney Hall, including the medical unit,” Sherrill said. “I have long opposed private detention facilities and will continue doing everything I can to secure a full inspection and improve conditions for detainees and their families.”

The latest dispute comes weeks after New Jersey sued GEO Group for denying health inspectors access to the facility during an attempted inspection earlier this month. State officials say they are investigating reports of potential public health violations inside the detention center, which reopened in May 2025.

Detainees have told family members, immigrant advocates, and attorneys that drinking water has a metallic taste, meals are sometimes served frozen or contaminated with worms, and people in custody are routinely denied timely medical care, among other complaints.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement and GEO Group have repeatedly denied allegations of unsafe conditions or negligence, often characterizing the accusations as politically motivated.

State health officials also said they remain concerned about the potential spread of communicable diseases. Last month, the Department of Health received a report that a detainee from Delaney Hall had been transported to University Hospital with tuberculosis, a highly infectious disease.

“I continue to be worried about the spread of disease and other health risks inside and outside Delaney Hall,” Health Commissioner Raynard E. Washington said. “Unsanitary conditions impact detainees and facility staff alike, and communicable diseases are not confined by the walls, locks, or doors of any facility. They can spread to staff and visitors, who may then carry infections into the broader community.”