Delaney Hall hunger and labor strike ended after weeks of protests and alleged retaliation

Advocates allege ICE and GEO Group responded to the protest with transfers, segregation, and other retaliatory measures

The hunger and labor strike at Newark’s Delaney Hall has come to an end after what activists described as a wave of retaliatory actions that included transferring detainees out of the facility, placing them in solitary confinement, and cutting off access to the commissary.

About 300 detainees launched the strike late last month to draw attention to what they described as squalid conditions inside the 1,000-bed immigrant detention center on Doremus Avenue and to persuade Gov. Mikie Sherrill to meet with them.

But reprisals by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and GEO Group, the private prison company that operates the facility, eventually broke the protest and led to its end last Friday, according to Sally Pillay of Eyes on ICE.

“There’s been a significant amount of retaliation, transfers, and threats,” Pillay told The Jersey Vindicator. “Individuals have been placed in solitary confinement and segregation. And those that were steadfast during the strikes were moved around the facility and transferred out.”

“They also cut off their commissary,” she continued. “The detainees saw this and decided to put their heads back down, not speak up, and not engage out of fear of being moved and deported.”

A spokesperson for GEO Group, which has a 15-year, $1 billion contract to operate Delaney Hall, referred inquiries on Wednesday to ICE.

In an email, an anonymous spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, denied allegations of negligence or wrongdoing and said there was “no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time.”

“For the record: During hunger strikes, ICE continues to provide three meals a day, delivered to the detained alien’s room, and an adequate supply of drinking water or other beverages,” the spokesperson said.

“All detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries,” they continued. “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.”

Pillay added that the recent wave of transfers has reduced the facility’s population to about 300, a sharp drop from the nearly 900 detainees reportedly held there just two months ago.

She believes the detainees’ resistance contributed to ICE’s decision to reduce the population at Delaney Hall, particularly because the strike sparked large, sometimes violent protests outside the facility as demonstrators clashed with federal agents, the New Jersey State Police, and the Newark Police Division.

“I think you can factor it in,” Pillay said. “The strike was definitely part of it. It put a huge spotlight on the facility’s conditions.”

During the height of the unrest, members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation conducted several oversight visits that they said confirmed many detainee complaints and led to new allegations that GEO maintained filthy bathrooms, had not installed air conditioning ahead of the hot summer months, and failed to provide adequate medical care.

Sherrill eventually visited Delaney Hall about two weeks ago but said she was not allowed to speak with detainees during what she described as a “closely controlled” tour of the controversial immigrant detention center.

Things have quieted down since then, Pillay said, and most protesters have stepped back from demonstrations for now.

But Pillay, one of several advocates and activists who have worked outside Delaney Hall since it reopened in May 2025, said the work is not done.

“We’ll just continue to do what we do to support those detained here,” she said.

On Wednesday, clergy gathered outside Delaney Hall to bless the white tent that has served as a waiting area and source of support for families visiting loved ones held at the detention center.

The tent, erected by Essex County in January, provides shelter from the weather for visitors after GEO Group declined to provide an indoor waiting area. Hundreds of family members, including children, have used the space while waiting to visit detained relatives.

Organizers said the tent sat largely empty during the hunger and labor strike because visitation was suspended. Although visits have resumed, they said visiting hours remain limited and are restricted to immediate family members.

The blessing, organizers said, was a show of continued solidarity with detainees and their families.