Geo Group Guards and Federal ICE Agents Beat, Pepper Spray, and Assault People inside and outside Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey

Newark, NJ – As the labor and hunger inside Delaney Hall reaches one week, organizers, immigrant families, and members of the ICE OUT OF NJ coalition are urgently calling on elected officials to immediately enter the facility and investigate escalating reports of violent retaliation, abuse, and beatings against people, whether they were participants in the strike or not. 

Families communicating directly with loved ones inside Delaney Hall report that Geo Group guards and federal ICE agents entered units to beat and punish people  for organizing and speaking out about conditions inside the facility. People  have described violent beatings by guards, the deployment of pepper spray, the removal of people who translate, people coughing up blood, blood covering parts of the facility, denial of medical attention, threats, and severe retaliation against those refusing meals and labor assignments. People have also reported that the prison has cut off ventilation to the units targeted.

Outside Delaney Hall, community members have gathered demanding immediate intervention and transparency as fear grows for the safety and lives of those inside.

“We are hearing horrifying reports directly from people inside Delaney Hall,” said Jorge Torres of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). “Families are telling us their loved ones are being beaten, threatened, and denied medical care simply for protesting inhumane conditions. Elected officials, the Governor, and the Attorney General cannot continue ignoring what is happening behind these walls. They must enter the facility immediately, speak directly with people, and hold GEO Group and ICE accountable for this violence.”

For months, immigrant communities across New Jersey have documented reports of medical neglect, inadequate food, psychological abuse, retaliation against people, and violations of due process inside Delaney Hall. The current hunger and labor strike began aftertheycollectively demanded humane treatment, medical care, edible food, and freedom from abusive conditions.

Advocates say the retaliation now unfolding demonstrates the urgent need for the public to demand the release of everyone detained, fund legal representation for all, and 

“People inside are risking their safety and their lives to expose what is happening in Delaney Hall,” said Cristian Moreno-Rodríguez, Executive Director of El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City. “The violence and retaliation being reported are deeply alarming. We are demanding elected officials stop issuing statements from outside and physically enter this facility now. The people inside deserve protection, accountability, and freedom.”

Families of detainees say they are terrified after receiving calls describing violence inside the facility:

“My husband called at 1:35 pm screaming to say they were being beaten and pepper sprayed. He was only able to say that when the call dropped. He called me back 40 mins after. This started because they [ICE] wanted to take the only person who translates for them in the unit. I had to run to Delaney Hall to speak up about what happened to my husband. One of the guys was taken by the ambulance because a guard broke his nose – said Gabriela Fuentes, wife of one of the men detained at Delaney Hall. 

Here’s an added section and closing invitation you can insert before the final paragraph and contact information:

Organizers are also inviting members of the press and the public to gather outside Delaney Hall on Saturday, May 30 at 9:00 AM to accompany and support families visiting their loved ones inside the facility. Community members will gather in prayer, solidarity, and peace to remind those inside that they are not alone and to show that communities respond to cruelty and isolation with love, care, and collective presence.

“We want families arriving at Delaney Hall to feel embraced and supported,” organizers said. “While ICE and GEO rely on fear and punishment, we believe in community care, solidarity, and human connection. We will continue showing up together to melt ICE with love.”

The gathering will include community members, faith leaders, organizers, and immigrant families calling for dignity, freedom, and accountability for the abuses taking place inside Delaney Hall.

Media and community members are encouraged to attend.

Saturday, May 30, 2026
9:00 AM
Outside Delaney Hall Detention Facility
Newark, New Jersey

Inside and outside Delaney Hall, families, detainees and advocates are calling for:

• The immediate release of vulnerable detainees, including elderly individuals, pregnant women, young people, pregnant women and those with serious medical conditions. 
• An immediate in-person meeting with Governor Mikie Sherrill at Delaney Hall to directly observe conditions and hear testimony from detained individuals  
• Independent investigations into conditions and human right violations inside Delaney Hall
• Full funding for immigrant legal defense
• An end to detention expansion in New Jersey, including proposed ICE facilities in Roxbury
• Transparency regarding ICE enforcement operations statewide

“The people detained inside Delaney Hall are workers, parents, neighbors, and members of our communities,” organizers added. “We will continue showing up until these walls of abuse and secrecy come down.”

For updates and interviews focused on the strikers and their families, please reach out, and follow Radio Jornalera NJ and Radio Cosecha, please watch an interview of a released hunger striker here

###