ICE Out of NJ Supports Strikers and Families Outside Delaney Hall as Governor and Elected Officials Demand Accountability

Newark, NJ — At Day 5 of the Hunger and Labor Strike at Delaney Hall, detainees remain strong, and members of the ICE OUT OF NJ collective have gathered outside alongside immigrant families, faith leaders, advocates, and community members as Governor Mikie Sherrill and elected officials attempt to visit the detention facility.

For months, immigrant communities across New Jersey have sounded the alarm about the conditions inside Delaney Hall. Families and advocates have documented reports of medical neglect, inadequate food, retaliation against detainees, psychological abuse, and violations of due process. Yesterday’s visit from the Governor and other electeds comes after mounting public pressure from directly impacted families and grassroots organizations demanding transparency and accountability.

“Our communities have been fighting towards freedom from Delaney Hall for years,” said Jorge Torres of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). “Families have begged elected officials to intervene while loved ones inside Delaney Hall endure abuse, hunger, and fear. We are here to make clear that immigrant communities will continue organizing until every person inside is treated with dignity and this detention system is dismantled.”

“From all across the state to Delaney Hall, our people are making one thing clear: when immigrant families are under attack, we show up for each other. No matter the distance, this fight belongs to all of us because the people inside Delaney Hall are our families, our neighbors, our parents, and our community. We will continue standing with the families outside and the hunger strikers inside until our people are free and this system of detention and family separation is dismantled.” — Cristian Moreno-Rodríguez, Executive Director of El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City

The hunger and labor strike has intensified calls for oversight after detained and formerly detained immigrants released a public letter detailing conditions inside the facility, including reports of worms in food, denial of medical care, forced labor, and retaliation against detainees who speak out. Despite the continuous threats of retaliation from GEO Group staff and ICE to end the strike, the strikers have remained strong and determined to continue. 

Organizations from across the ICE OUT OF NJ coalition have been united outside Delaney Hall today, emphasizing that the crisis inside the facility reflects years of expanding collaboration between ICE and local institutions.

The current hunger strike follows a long history of resistance led by detained immigrants inside Delaney Hall and detention facilities across New Jersey. In 2020, detained people organized hunger strikes demanding protection from COVID-19 outbreaks, access to medical care, and release from unsafe and overcrowded conditions. That same spirit of survival continues today as detainees risk retaliation to expose abuses happening behind these walls.

Families of hunger strikers say the emotional toll of detention has devastated entire households:

“My husband is part of this hunger strike because he has been unjustly detained in Delaney Hall for three and a half months,” said the wife of one of the hunger strikers. “Our entire family is suffering irreparable emotional harm. We demand that his rights be respected, that he be treated with dignity, and that he be released so he can continue his immigration process without being separated from his children.”

“My daughter is 18 years old and has been detained for one month and three weeks. She has not even graduated from high school yet,” said the mother of a detained teenager. “My daughter should have been at her prom, not locked up unjustly. Her detention has worsened her anxiety and depression. Every day I fear for her mental stability and for the possibility that she may hurt herself. It is not fair that they continue destroying so many families; we are not hurting anyone. We are simply fighting to survive.”

“My husband is inside Delaney hall for 2 months now and he has not been given a court date. We have 3 children and I am alone now trying to feed them and look for help for lawyers. He is telling me about all the bad conditions inside and how he is not able to eat good food. That is why many of them are on this hunger strike. I want my husband to be released immediately.”

“My brother was detained on May 19th outside of a convenience store where people stand looking for work every day. My brother is a peaceful person, who was only looking for work the day ICE detained him after tricking him by asking for help identifying someone else. My brother deserves his freedom.”

“My husband is part of the hunger strike because he has been unjustly detained in Delaney Hall for 10 months. He has three children who wait for him and cry every day. As a mother and wife, I am desperate and heartbroken to see my children suffering so much because of their father’s absence. They no longer even want to eat properly.

That is why we demand my husband’s freedom – that they remove him from that terrible place where he is being detained at. He is a good father and husband. We demand that he be released, please.”

Organizations from across the ICE OUT OF NJ Collective have been standing united outside Delaney Hall for days, emphasizing that the crisis inside the facility reflects years of expanding collaboration between ICE and local institutions. Organizers expressed deep solidarity with the detainees risking their safety through collective protest and reaffirmed their commitment to continuing the fight until every person inside is free.

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 from outside Delaney, follow Radio Jornalera NJ and Radio Cosecha, please watch an interview of a released hunger striker here.

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