Newark Mayor
Ras J. Baraka
stated on Tuesday that the privately owned operator of an immigration detention facility does not have the required city planning board authorization or certificate of occupancy to commence operations. He added that his administration plans to initiate legal action and close off the premises if needed to prevent its operation until all requisite permissions are obtained.
“If they attempt to break the law, we will take legal action against them,” Baraka stated outside the facility, which is referred to as
Delaney Hall
, with approximately 300 demonstrators comprising immigration rights supporters and other critics of the facility protesting in its parking lot.
Baraka, a Democrat
running for governor
at this month’s primary election, they were the key figure addressing a gathering organized jointly by two immigrant advocacy groups.
Create a New Path for New Jersey
and the New Jersey
Alliance for Immigrant Justice
, with the latter being a coalition of 60 interconnected groups across the state.
Participants from these organizations, including labor unions, environmental justice supporters, nearby religious leaders, and more, repeated the chant “The people united can never be defeated,” both in English and Spanish. They displayed banners with messages such as “Immigrant strength,” “NJ Rejects ICE,” and “We Are All Immigrants.”
Among the day’s most striking visuals was an image showing the Virgin Mary — a prominent immigrant herself — in handcuffs, accompanied by two agents dressed in black from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Bright blue skies and comfortable temperatures boosted the protesters’ zeal; however, their mood was somewhat spoiled at times by unpleasant smells drifting through the area.
Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority
Plant simply located over Doremus Avenue.
The PVSC facility and Delaney Hall are located in Newark’s Ironbound district, which is zoned industrially. Environmental justice activists argue this area is already saturated with industries causing health issues and other concerns for the predominantly immigrant population living there.
“We require many things in this neighborhood; however, what we don’t need is a detention center,” stated Reverend Moacir Weirich, who serves as the pastor at Saint Stephen’s Grace Church in Ironbound.
Delaney Hall is a 1,000-bed establishment that is both owned and run by the
GEO Group
in Boca Raton, Florida. This move would increase ICE’s ability to detain individuals in New Jersey threefold.
ICE selected the site partly because of its position less than two miles northeast of
Newark Liberty International Airport
, where, after attending hearings and receiving deportation orders from an immigration judge, detainees could be transported on flights back to their home countries.
Currently operational in New Jersey is a single immigration detention center, which is a 300-bed facility located in nearby Elizabeth, situated just below the airport. This facility in Elizabeth operates under a contract with ICE and is managed by a private company.
CoreCivic
of Nashville, Tennessee.
Criticism of the proposals for Delaney Hall has grown more intense following ICE’s announcement about its “upcoming” launch on February 27th. This criticism became intertwined with objections to various policies initiated by President Donald Trump after he took office on January 20th.
However, opposition to the Newark facility by Democratic officials from New Jersey started growing in April 2024 when ICE announced under former-Director
President Joe Biden
a fellow Democrat mentioned that negotiations were underway with the GEO Group to convert the facility into a detention center.
The agreement unveiled by ICE and the GEO Group last month is expected to be valued at around $1 billion for the company throughout a 15-year period.
The GEO Group did not reply to requests seeking their comments on Baraka’s claim that they require approval from the city before starting operations.
A local ICE representative chose not to respond to the mayor’s claims, instead directing back to the initial statement from ICE.
Feb. 27 announcement
of Delaney Hall’s opening.
The statement cites ICE Acting Director Caleb Vitello stating that the facility would assist the agency in “supporting President
(Donald) Trump
’s directive to apprehend, imprison, and expel unauthorized immigrants from our neighborhoods,’ however, it did not address the matter of local approvals.
On Tuesday, Baraka united with others in urging the approval of the Immigrant Trust Act, a pending state bill aimed at formalizing directives established by New Jersey’s state attorney general during President Trump’s initial tenure. This act seeks to restrict local police departments from sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Baraka noted that every American has migration roots somewhere, referencing his own family’s journey north to Newark from the segregated South under Jim Crow laws. He also emphasized that everyone residing in the U.S. benefits from constitutional rights, currently being jeopardized by unauthorized searches as well as various forms of injustice.
“I’m not sure if you can find anyone here who isn’t an immigrant,” Baraka stated to the audience.
However, he noted, “This issue isn’t solely about immigrants.”
“Should one individual suffer, we all endure pain,” Baraka stated. “The violation of even one person’s rights infringes upon the rights of each and every one of us.”
No one understands Jersey quite like this person does.
SofTech
Subscribe to receive instant notifications of breaking news directly in your emailinbox.
.
Steve Strunsky can be contacted at
sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com
©2025Advance Local Media LLC. Please see SofTech. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
