Newark, NJ — Turbulence has erupted inside Delaney Hall, the freshly repurposed immigration detention complex on Newark’s industrial fringe, only weeks after it opened its doors under a 15-year, $1 billion contract awarded to private-prison giant GEO Group by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Early Trouble in a High-Price Project
Converted from a sprawling warehouse estate near Newark Liberty International Airport, Delaney Hall was pitched as a 1,000-bed answer to clogged federal facilities. Area residents and local officials, however, objected from the outset. Their fears proved prescient. By late Thursday evening, roughly 50 detainees launched a spontaneous protest over living conditions, tipping the compound into disorder. “What began as a sit-in devolved once guards moved in,” reported Mustafa Cetin, legal counsel to one of the asylum seekers. “Poor planning and zero transparency fuelled the anger.”
Violence, a Blocked Transport Van, and Four Escapes
Social-media footage captured detainees and supporters trying to obstruct an ICE transport van at the facility gates, sparking clashes with state and local police. A senior Homeland Security official later confirmed that four detainees slipped out amid the chaos. A multi-agency manhunt is now under way.
Local Leadership Demands Oversight
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was briefly detained last month after attempting to inspect the site, blasted the episode: “Reports range from food being withheld to outright abuse, culminating in an uprising and escapes. Private prisons remain an unacceptable loophole in New Jersey’s constitution.” Democratic congresswoman LaMonica McIver—herself facing pending charges after a prior confrontation with ICE guards—echoed the mayor’s call for immediate federal and state scrutiny.
A New Flashpoint in the Immigration Fight
Delaney Hall has swiftly become a symbol of the wider political slug-fest over the Trump-era immigration clampdown. Democrats accuse the administration of outsourcing accountability along with detention beds; GOP allies counter that privately run centers are essential to address record apprehensions.
For Newark residents living in the flight path of the airport, the stakes are painfully local: a fortified compound, nightly sirens, and now four escapees on the loose. For Washington, it is another reminder that billion-dollar contracts do little to quiet a debate that shows no sign of cooling.
