NJ Gov. Sherrill Given Controlled Tour of Newark Immigration Facility Amid Detainee Strike and Protests
Mikie Sherrill said she was denied direct access to detainees during a Monday visit to Delaney Hall, weeks after first requesting entry. The state is suing the facility's operator over inspection rights.
The HillNew Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill received a “closely controlled and limited tour” of the Delaney Hall federal immigration detention facility in Newark on Monday. Federal officials did not allow her to meet or speak directly with detainees during the visit.
Sherrill had been denied access to the facility for weeks before being permitted entry. She said she will continue to push to speak with the detainees directly amid an ongoing hunger and labor strike that began last month. The state sued The GEO Group, which operates Delaney Hall, last week in Superior Court in Essex County.
The lawsuit asks a judge to grant the New Jersey Department of Health immediate entry to the facility. Newark police arrested six individuals over the weekend during demonstrations at Delaney Hall. Emanuel Miranda, director of the Newark Department of Public Safety, said the suspects committed property damage and blocked the entrance.
“At that point, an unlawful assembly was ordered, as blocking the entrance is a public safety hazard that puts everyone, including the detainees, in danger. These individuals refused to comply,” Miranda said Sunday. Sherrill, who took office in January, said she and New Jersey’s congressional delegation will keep fighting for full transparency and accountability from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Hill has reached out to ICE for comment. New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim said Saturday that ICE officials refused to allow him to speak with detainees during a visit to the facility that day. Kim was pepper-sprayed by federal authorities during a protest outside Delaney Hall last month.
“The American people deserve to know what is happening,” Kim said in a video posted to X. The facility has been the site of multiple protests over the last year-plus.
