ICE agents attack protesters and Democrat senator

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have attacked protesters outside of the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. Meanwhile, detainees inside the facility have staged a hunger strike against the inhumane conditions they’re subjected to.

Attorneys have reported that around 300 detainees have joined the hunger-and-labor strike at Delaney Hall. The peaceful action began on 22 May, highlighting serious concerns including the spoiled food they’re expected to eat.

Selenia Destefani – CEO of Nova Law Group, representatives of the detainees – explained that:

The conditions are brutal. People just sleep on the floor – overcrowded rooms, cold showers, no food, extremely cold in the cells with no blankets. Not sound conditions to live in.

Democrat lawmakers barred from entry by ICE

Senator Andy Kim visited Delaney Hall on 23 May after hearing the allegations. Posting on social media, he reported seeing:

-Pregnant woman unable to get full OBGYN medical support

-Woman who had a miscarriage in the detention facility and left to manage all on her own[…]

-A carton with the milk inside congealed solid (expiration date is tomorrow)[…]

-A document showing next Tuesday’s court docket showing 74 cases before 1 judge in one day (averages about 5 min a case)

-man telling me ICE trying to deport him to DRC where there is active Ebola outbreak (he’s from South America originally) […]

-Numerous people who were arrested at scheduled interviews for green cards (trying to follow the formal process)

However, a DHS spokesperson flat-out denied Kim’s report:

This is nothing more than a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks. There is NO hunger strike at Delaney Hall. There are NO subprime conditions or abuse at the facility.

Soto Hernandez

Other Democrats, including New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill, tried to visit over 24-25 May. Sherrill said:

The people inside Delaney Hall are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters and members of our community. In New Jersey, we believe in the rule of law and that everyone deserves to be treated with basic dignity. We have a duty to safeguard the rights, health, and well-being of everyone within our borders.

However, ICE barred the lawmakers’ entry to the facility. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson claimed that, because of the protests outside:

Visitation has been suspended out of an abundance of caution.

On key aim of the protest outside the facility was the prevention of the transfer of detainee Soto Hernandez to another facility. ICE agents snatched Hernandez on 20 January whilst he was out buying diapers. He has since sought release on bond.

His wife, Gabriela, is currently looking after their two children alone, whilst 4-months pregnant. Nevertheless, she organised a rally on 22 May, which also served to announce the hunger strike. A lawyer representing Hernandez stated that Soto was served spoiled food infested with worms.

ICE attack protestors

Over the weekend, protesters formed a human chain to block the entry and exit of unmarked government vehicles. Footage from Freedom News TV showed masked ICE thugs using batons and tear gas against the demonstrators in the early hours of 25 May.

Agents also detained protesters, grabbing them from the crowd and even dragging them across the floor in at least one documented case. Senator Andy Kim, who joined the protest, was struck by tear gas during the ICE attack.

Sadly, ICE succeeded in transferring Hernandez to Elizabeth Contract Detention Center. There, agents placed him in isolation and prevented him from making phone calls. Soto’s attorney described him as weighing around 110lbs, stating that:

he’s skin and bones. I could blow him away.

‘Fighting for their human rights’

New Jersey senator Cory Booker raised serious concerns about conditions at the privately-owned Delaney Hall back in 2023, calling “it an insult to immigrant communities”. On 26 May, he posted that:

Immigrants at Delaney Hall are on a hunger strike because they are fighting for their human rights. […]

We’re working with our partners in the state to bring an end to this nightmare and I’ll be going to Delaney Hall again to conduct oversight.

Since Trump came to power for his second term, almost 50 detainees have died in ICE custody. This is, by far, the highest level of deaths in such US facilities over the last 20 years.

Featured image via screengrab