About 300 migrants detained at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark have started a hunger and labor strike to denounce the conditions inside the facility and demand their release. The protest, which began on Friday, continued over the weekend as family members, activists, and Democratic lawmakers gathered in front of the building to request access to the site and denounce alleged retaliation against the detainees.
The detainees inside the facility operated by the private company GEO Group claim to face overcrowding, lack of adequate medical care, spoiled food, and prolonged delays in their immigration processes. Some stated they found live worms in the food and denounced that authorities deny them due process to pressure them into accepting self-deportation.
According to activists present outside the center, shortly after these communications, guards restricted detainees’ access to phones and tablets. Sally Pillay, from the organization First Friends of New Jersey and New York, described the measure as retaliation in a statement to the New Jersey Monitor, a local media outlet. “This is punishment and retaliation for the organizing activity taking place inside,” she said.
The situation has attracted the attention of state and federal officials. On Saturday, Democratic Senator Andy Kim and Congressman Rob Menendez conducted an oversight visit to the center and spoke with some of the detainees.
Kim told the media he heard testimonies from people who have been waiting almost a year for court hearings, as well as cases of detainees who remain in custody despite having obtained habeas corpus relief or even deportation orders months ago. He also questioned the workload of immigration courts. “One judge has to resolve 74 cases just this Tuesday. It is clear that this is a sham judicial process,” he told CBS. Menendez said he was concerned about the possibility that ICE might increase pressure on those participating in the strike.
Gabriela Soto, wife of detainee Martin Soto and one of the main organizers of the protests outside the center, said authorities threatened to restrict her visits after the demonstrations. She also denounced that her husband was subjected to prolonged interrogations inside the facility.
Martin Soto was detained four months ago by immigration agents while walking home after buying diapers for his four-year-old daughter. His wife, a U.S. citizen currently pregnant with their third child, said there is a court order for his release.
During a protest on Sunday, demonstrators temporarily blocked a white van trying to leave Delaney Hall because Soto was being transferred. His wife said the man was dragged toward the vehicle from where he later shouted and hit the window. It is currently unknown where he was transferred.
The Department of Homeland Security rejected the accusations about conditions inside the center. In a statement released on Saturday, a spokesperson said all detainees receive “three meals a day, drinking water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and hygiene items,” as well as medical, dental, and psychological care. DHS also stated that “at this time there is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall,” despite testimonies from family members, activists, and lawmakers who visited the site.
Delaney Hall, a facility with a capacity for 1,000 people located in an industrial area of Newark, has been a source of controversy since its reopening last year. Detained migrants have repeatedly reported problems of overcrowding, poor food, and lack of medical care.
In 2025, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested in front of the center during a protest, although the charges were dropped shortly after. That same year, a detainee uprising ended with the escape of four people, and months later a migrant died in custody less than 24 hours after entering the facility.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill publicly requested access to Delaney Hall and said she is “deeply concerned about the news regarding poor conditions” inside the facility. “I will continue to call for the closure of Delaney Hall due to reports like these,” she said in a statement.
The strikers have also requested visits from Senator Cory Booker and other state officials, while protests continue outside the center and pressure grows for federal authorities to respond to the allegations.
