Mayor sues ICE facility and demands closure over safety concerns

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]that they are working with the city uh and I dare to say the state to protect Delaney Hall and support its operations is it is completely inaccurate uh and also deeply offensive to us and to the residents of our city because our concerns regarding Delaney Hall have only deepened especially regarding the treatment of detainees which remain deeply troubling and inhumane.

[00:00:22]The reports of detainees suffering miscarriages, receiving inadequate medical care, psychological abuse, uh is troubling uh which forces us now to expand and our business administrator will talk about that our lawsuit against Delaney Hall uh further than just code enforcement uh violations.

[00:00:44]I already spoke that the city has already implemented a curfew which by God's grace we're going to try to lift this evening or tomorrow evening.

[00:00:53]Uh the the city is now managing traffic with the state police help and help from other uh agencies around the state. Uh the key intersections Wilson and Daris, Roanoke and Daris, Avenue P and Daris.

[00:01:07]We believe that maintaining order and protecting civil rights are not mutually exclusive. they must go hand in hand. We obviously thought that the interaction between uh ICE agents uh homeland security and the interaction between the state police and residents were troubling uh to us.

[00:01:26]Uh we uh had a a meeting with the governor's office who has been on board uh and the state attorney general about Newark uh beginning to have uh a greater span of control, a more incident command, a louder voice uh in how things are executed here on the ground in and around this area. Uh and that has been granted to us. we have uh been allowed uh you know working still in in in close conjunction with the state to begin to manage what's going on uh in this area.

[00:01:57]I I might say that we probably should have done that earlier uh jumped in and had a louder voice in and what was happening uh uh in and around this as it began to grow more and more untenable as the days went on.

[00:02:11]What we are most concerned about is that the public conversation have shifted away from what matters most. The urgent issues, not just what's happening outside of Delaney Hall, what's happening inside of Delaney Hall, the detainees, their families, the real harm and hardship that they're experiencing.

[00:02:27]And we will take steps to expand and strengthen our case against the GEO, the GEO group. We have to understand that this case is against GIO. GIO is a private company who is hiding under the opies of a contract that they have with the federal government. The federal government who has no employees that work here who this is not a federal facility. These are not federal grounds.

[00:02:48]This is a private facility. Private workers and they are subject to state and municipal laws. they are they cannot be shielded by a contract that they have with Homeland Security, which is what they're trying to do uh over and over again with our case. Uh and and and I'm sure they're going to try to do that as we move forward. I would like to uh ask Judge Simper, who is the presiding judge over this, that this is just not a dispute, a bureaucratic dispute over garbage and debris, a code enforcement dispute. This is a dispute about human lives, about people and the way they're being treated. Uh whether they're detainees or not. Uh we have a constitution in this country. We have basic human rights that we follow.

[00:03:29]People have to be treated humanely in these institutions. We believe that this is not the case. In fact, we believe that the way uh go opened up Delaney Hall was in contravention to city municipal laws and state laws from the very beginning. OnStart and has no real uh uh grounds to be open and should be closed on the grounds that we stated in the first place. And we're going to argue even further uh that this should be closed because of health and human safety. As we go forward, uh the city of Newark uh will now maintain most of the protection around this area to make sure people are able to protest without abuse, be able to protest and exercise their first amendment rights uh without uh interference uh in a safe way. uh we put we we with the help of the state police put up a barrier to protect people from traffic to allow folks to uh do this in a way uh that that is not harmful to them or harmful to anybody that's going back and forth. Uh we also set up uh opportunities for counterprotesters so they can protest and there's no uh interaction as well.

[00:04:37]And soon soon we will be removing these protective or freedom of speech zones that were created and allow people to come back onto Daris Avenue uh and out of these zones that were created which uh in its onstart that I didn't agree with uh in the first place. But uh here we are. I would like the business administrator to talk a little bit more about the legal strategy. Uh he could probably do that better than I can. Uh and then I'll be open for any questions that people may have. Sure.

[00:05:08]>> Good morning. As the uh as Mayor Barack has indicated, there's already an existing litigation uh between the city of Newark and the GEO group. We have been uh in receipt of correspondence from individuals inside of Delaney Hall, detainees and their family members that have detailed some of the conditions, the horrific conditions that are in there. The mayor's already talked about one individual who had a miscarriage without appropriate medical treatment.

[00:05:34]The food has been described as having maggots and it's been inadequate. Um there are other we believe health and code violations. It's the obligation of the city of Newark, not just at this facility, but at every facility to ensure that buildings are open with the uh health, safety, and welfare of those inside as the paramount issue. We have been denied access uh for subsequent visits to make sure that that is the case. Now that we have this additional information, we are again obligated uh just as with any other facility to go in and make sure that our health department has access, the state health department who's also indicated that they want to join in on this and our code enforcement teams and UCC, which is the uniform commercial code to ensure that the building is safe and is up to the standards of the city and the state.

[00:06:23]Thus far, they have not done so. As the mayor has indicated, Judge Seer has this case already and we would like him to rule. We anticipate uh now that we have uh asked the GO group for access again.

[00:06:35]I sent an email to GEO Group last night indicating that we want to get access to make sure that the health and safety of the individuals inside is appropriate.

[00:06:44]We have not received a response yet, but we expect to get that today. uh if they don't allow us in, we along with partners who are out out here uh to protect the individuals inside will they will join our lawsuit uh to seek to have the the uh along with the state state health department to join to have this facility shut down until it can be uh inspected and ensured that it is safe for the individuals who who are in there. So, we are waiting uh Geog Group's response now and we expect to go to the court within the next day or two to continue the existing lawsuit.

[00:07:22]>> I'll entertain a few questions.

[00:07:24]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:07:26]>> Romney with NBC. Um, thank you Ramy with WNBC. Uh, the borders are Tomman said he was here over the weekend. He saw these ate the food. He is claiming that everything's up to par and fine. What is your response to that? Well, I'm sure they gave him good food and they gave him good treatment. He is the border. Uh I I would imagine that uh he should have probably spoken to some of the detainees and and interviewed them and talked to them uh honestly about the conditions that were happening here. I was here that morning when Congresswoman Mendez was here. I was here uh with Congresswoman MacGyver, with Congresswoman Analia Mahia, and when they came out and Senator Andy Kim when they came out, their uh conclusions about what they saw inside of this facility were grim uh and completely opposite of what uh Homeman said. Uh and so I expect there to be differences. Uh but because those things were raised, we believe entitles us to go and see and inspect for ourselves. like if it was a nursing home or any other property uh that get similar complaints.

[00:08:36]>> May Mayor Baraka Christina Fan with WCBS. I wanted to ask it seems like New York police started handling the curfew last night. How did that go? Were there any arrests? And could you explain again why you made the decision to have New York police handle this? And how did how good of a job or bad of a job did you think state police did? Well, uh, last night we didn't have no arrest by God's grace. Uh, and, uh, you know, uh, uh, we we I think it was, I'm quite sure it was incident free. Uh, you know, we had our normal teams on the ground, uh, mostly community people, uh, police in the background talking to individuals, telling them it's a curfew. People are upset. You know, they are frustrated.

[00:09:19]Uh, they've gone through a lot. Some of them have come down here prepared for battle. uh uh we made it clear that we didn't we wasn't here to battle anybody.

[00:09:27]We was here to make sure that uh folks were safely uh able to protest. In fact, we allowed people to go down the street to another location uh outside of the curfew zone and stay there even a little longer uh and we didn't rush people off the scene and people began to gradually dissipate on their own uh without arrest and without incident. And at the same time, people were getting out of the county jail. So, we had that flow of people that were getting out of county jail. About 60 people were getting out of there and we provided rides for people who were coming out of the county jail from the county jail to the train station so they're able to get out of this area uh safely. Listen, I think that the governor was supposed to act. I think she acted and she was supposed to.

[00:10:08]She's the leader of the state. Uh Homeman threatened to bring 31 tactical units into the state of New Jersey to deal with this. And we all know what that looked like in Minnesota. Two people lost their lives. We know what that looked like in Seattle. We know what that looked like around the country. So, she acted uh I I think the the state police used their training.

[00:10:30]Unfortunately, their training was not appropriate for what was happening in this area at the time. Uh and they uh kind of resembled what what what ICE was doing in the first place, right? Uh and I think that that helped further escalate the situation. Uh we wanted to deescalate the situation and I think our officers are are more trained in deescalation. Uh not because we were just born that way but because we just went through a consent decree and our officers have been trained and so we have a little bit more restraint. uh and I think that that's important uh when people are frustrated, they're angry that we have to show a kind of prolonged level of restraint to individuals to express themselves, even emotionally express themselves. Uh we even have a free freedom of speech policy training that we do that allows us uh officers to understand that that they're not supposed to arrest people simply because they're saying something that they don't like.

[00:11:29]Mayor Lauren D with News12 New Jersey.

[00:11:32]Delaney Hall. What's happening here is getting a lot of attention, not only in New Jersey, nationally. People are watching on social media. What's your main message to everyone this afternoon?

[00:11:42]>> Well, what's happening in Delaney Hall is happening around the country and and and people should know that there have been people on the ground here in front of Delaney Hall every single day before it even opened. I came to a couple of those protests. Uh there were people out here for over a year without incident uh without uh being thrown into the street, without being slammed to the ground, without tear gas and fires. None none of that uh uh took place, which means people know how to peacefully protest.

[00:12:12]It was happening. I think it was escalated the minute uh ICE showed up on the scene. They created this kind of escalation that took place that we have not recovered from until last night. And that that's that's the reality of the matter. I know that because when I was here and and was arrested, it was escalated by them then. So, I know that there's a history of escalation. And so, what but what but but what we have to understand as as elected officials and activists is that we can't have the attention turned to the escalation that's going on outside and away from what's happening in the property.

[00:12:46]Because our real reason for being out here is to make sure Delaney Hall is closed and all the attention is on violence takes us away from detainees who who the overwhelming majority of the detainees uh are not criminals. You know, they they some of them have even been to court and was arrested at their hearing, right? So, uh to me that's problematic, right? And it's contrary to what we uh express to the world as what the United States is supposed to be.

[00:13:16]Bring us your tired, your huddled masses. Masses. This is what we're supposed to be. People come here for a reason, right? And we are supposed to be the bastion of democracy and freedom for around the world. Yes.

[00:13:29]>> Hey, excuse me, Mayor. This is Michael Warren with >> She was next. Go ahead. I'm sorry. Then I'll go over here.

[00:13:41]Yes.

[00:13:44]>> No, it it was an ultimatum. He was actually speaking like it was already happening and it may have. I'm not I'm not sure if they started or whatever.

[00:13:51]And uh you know that that kind of discussion uh obviously creates uh you know urgency uh and I think that that is the atmosphere and I think that where where the governor thought it was necessary to act uh be because obviously we don't want tactical units all up and down. I don't want them in the city and we don't want them uh in the state.

[00:14:14]>> Yes sir.

[00:14:15]>> Thanks Mayor. Uh can you clarify? Did you say the state government is prepared to enter the uh lawsuit if the health inspectors are not allowed access to this?

[00:14:24]>> That we've had discussions with the state and they have uh told us that they are interested in being a party to uh our larger lawsuit. Yes.

[00:14:32]>> Just one more. Uh the federal government is not going to be named in this action.

[00:14:37]Can you explain why not?

[00:14:39]>> I can't hear you.

[00:14:39]>> The federal government's not going to be named in this uh action at this point.

[00:14:42]Can you explain why not?

[00:14:43]>> Right. Because the the action is actually against the GEO group which is a private facility.

[00:15:16]Okay. Our objective is to close the building, right? And the people that have the greatest ability to close the building is the GEO Group. That's a private organization. They have a contract with the government with HSI to house detainees. This was a halfway house prior to what it is today. It was a halfway house for people who were returning home from incarceration. They changed the use of this property by virtue of the fact that they changed the use triggers a variance. They have to go through the zoning board and have community meetings like any other building in the state. Uh they they bypassed that process. They limited uh inspections which by virtue of that does not give them the right to be open.

[00:16:01]Right. And now in the health and human safety issues that we're hearing, the state has the ability to go in. The state health director, the city's health director has the ability to go in like they would be go into any other building. If there was a nursing home in the state of New Jersey that we know about and we have these complaints where residents die in a nursing home and somebody has died in there in a nursing home. If there were people who were having miscarriages, if people were complaining about food, the health department would be uh in those buildings immediately and working to shut them down. The only thing that is preventing that from happening here is a contract that they have that they're shielding themselves with. And you know, our judges uh seem to be comfortable with allowing them to do that. and we're going to continue to to press forward uh to move that obstruction out of our way so we can do what we supposed to do in in Delaney Hall >> here withundo. Does any of your decision had anything to do with the visit of Tom Hman here during the weekend?

[00:17:01]>> The visit of what?

[00:17:02]>> Tom Hman.

[00:17:04]>> My decision?

[00:17:05]>> No. No.

[00:17:06]>> Like the design area for protesters or the curfew?

[00:17:10]>> No.

[00:17:10]>> He said that he came here. He talked to local authorities.

[00:17:13]>> He did.

[00:17:13]>> And he uh he said that on Fox and he got a lot of the thing that he asked for.

[00:17:20]>> Right. But not from us. But let let me just make that clear. But um uh in fact, he asked us to do things that we refused to do. Uh but but al ultimately our decisions us being out in front of Delaney Hall has nothing to do with Tom Holman. He uh directly indirectly he is which we were but directly we came out here before Tom Hman even got this position right or or or been been was sent here. We've been out here as I stated for over a year.

[00:17:50]Protesters have been out here for over a year. So that that's clear uh to me. the the the the curfew was put in place because of the violence that took place in this area because fires that was set. There was tires burning right where you stand uh in the middle of the street. Uh there were people being pushed in front into moving traffic uh that was happening.

[00:18:14]People were being hit with batons. Tear gas was flying in the area. We decided uh with with with the with the the also with the uh consent of the state government to set up a curfew in this area. We decided it would be limited uh and based on what happens this evening uh you know honestly I want to pull the curfew tonight right but you know either we'll continue it tonight and and and end it tomorrow or end it tonight but it it will not continue uh past this week.

[00:18:46]>> Uh Phil Tape with WABC. Uh just one question. You said that you're looking forward to seeing that curfew being lifted, these potential zones also being removed. What plan is to put into place if we are to see similar scenes like we have over the past week? What exactly is that?

[00:19:01]>> Well, we we we we're prayerful that uh those things don't happen. And I'm angry that you even spoken into existence, brother, but but it's it's all good. Uh but that that's a right question. We are going to have our folks out here. Uh we're going to have our community teams out here. Uh our uh our street teams out here. Some most of them are not police officers. Uh these people will be out here talking to the crowd doing what's necessary. Our clergy, our community activists to engage uh with folks in this community. Some of them who are part of the protest who are just as angry as everybody else. Uh, in fact, and I want to tell people the overwhelming majority, I would say 99.9% of the people who come down here to protest did not come down here to attack ICE. They did not come down here to fight with police. They did not come down here to wrestle with individuals. They came down here to protect families and detainees and fight for their constitutional rights and their civil rights. How do I know that?

[00:20:04]History has proven that to be true over the past year. That is a fact. And so when people say protesters are causing this problem, there are people causing problems, but I can't tell you if they're protesters or not. And I don't know who these people are who come here to do this. I don't know how they got here, who planted them here, what their what their energy is, what what they want to do. And I I don't understand the thinking of Homeland Security, why they think they should push people into traffic, right? Why they think they should throw tear gas into crowds. I I don't understand those tactics or hit people with batons, which is clearly unconstitutional, right? Uh you know, if the New York police would be under consent decree again if we behaved that way. We have bodywn cameras. We have to be subject to suits and and and scrutiny by the public to to to behave that way is unconstitutional in in my mind.

[00:21:01]>> Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor Ry Revard from Politico. It sounds like you agree and disagree with the may with the governor on certain things. Can you explain what you agree with her and disagree with the state police and her about?

[00:21:12]>> I mean, clearly I agree that she was supposed to take action 100%. She's the governor. She's the leader of this state. Uh our agencies are going to follow her, her attorney general, her staff. We're going to defer to her uh because she is the leader of this state.

[00:21:27]Uh and she needed to make strong and aggressive decisions. um she made a decision to involve the state police, which is probably the tools that she has at her disposal. Uh so I don't disagree uh with with any of that up to that point. What I disagree with is the tactics that were employed uh by uh the state police when they got here for that various situation. Look, the state police is a sword. If you're going to if you're going to uh use them, you have to expect people to get cut. and and those those are the the the thinking that has to go into this. And I just think that we going forward have to have larger discussions about tactics on the ground.

[00:22:07]The local authorities, our public safety director has to be involved in every decision going forward in our city, right? The elected officials have to be involved. Our health department and and to their credit, there have been cross conversations with individuals, but not collective ones. And we've finally had a collective conversation. And out of that collective conversation which is is what happened is what's happening here today.

[00:22:30]Why we have a greater span of control and influence uh why we are making a decision to reopen to Ramis Avenue and making a decision to close these uh freedom of speech zones uh at some point.

[00:22:43]>> Romney again with WNBC. Um it's very clear that you want the facility shut down and that your biggest concern right now is of the detainees health and wellness inside. In an ideal world, if it were able to be shut down right now, what would happen to the detainees inside? Where would they go?

[00:23:00]>> And and we had this discussion with the the with with Homeman and leadership.

[00:23:05]You know, they they they would immediately transfer these people out of the state. That's what they would do.

[00:23:10]That is the the downside of what we're talking about here. that that people that they they're transferring people now, you know, who they believe are troublemakers. They're transferring them out of here, which is the behavior of any penal institution in this country.

[00:23:26]They're going to transfer folks who are organizing other people inside. Uh they would move these people outside of the state of New Jersey, which would be a hardship to uh some of the family members. But I I believe that our partners and folks on the ground would work out as much as they could to get people to these places to purchase tickets, to do what's necessary to get people in front of their uh loved ones.

[00:23:50]And hopefully this sparks uh something where we begin to close them down all over the country so uh there's nowhere to send these people besides a court so they can have a hearing and get due process and become citizens of the United States.

[00:24:05]>> Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate. Go ahead.

[00:24:10]>> Yes. The >> Yes. The We We are completely working with the state police. We always have. I don't want people to take this as we uh don't like the state police. We work with In fact, we work with the state police, the ATF, the FBI, even Homeland Security on issues of criminal apprehension, all kinds of things. uh that we work with them very very very well on and and they're very very very well trained to do and deal with us in those areas and we expect their assistance and their help. We just want to be able to control what is happening in our own city.

[00:25:02]Hey, what's up