The Delaney Hall Facility in Newark is emerging as a critical test for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin just two months into his tenure. The 1,000-bed private detention center has become the focal point of a fierce clash between the Trump administration and critics demanding immediate action on what they describe as inhumane conditions.
Protesters have been arrested outside the complex while detainees inside are reportedly engaged in a coordinated hunger strike, claiming inadequate medical care and unsafe living conditions. Nedia Morsy, director of Make the Road New Jersey, told Axios the strike involves roughly 300 detained individuals seeking release from the facility.
The reopening of Delaney Hall last year unleashed waves of high-profile demonstrations, arrests, and even escapes. Democratic lawmakers and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill have called for the center to be permanently shut down. On Friday, Sherrill announced the creation of a protected protest zone outside the facility and pledged to take "every action available" to secure a full health inspection by the state, saying federal access restrictions have prevented thorough oversight.
The New Jersey Department of Health confirmed to Axios that inspectors have only been permitted to conduct food service inspections, not the comprehensive review the state is seeking.
Mullin has rejected the criticism, contending the uproar has nothing to do with actual conditions at the facility. In a Wednesday Cabinet meeting, he dismissed claims of a hunger strike, saying a "handful of individuals" simply refused to eat because they wanted "ethnic right food." He added they could "go back to their country and get whatever food they want."
The Department of Homeland Security maintains detainees receive three meals daily, clean water, clothing, and other resources. DHS did not respond to requests for additional comment.
Ami Kachalia, a senior policy strategist with the ACLU of New Jersey, countered that the crisis runs deeper. "There's been brutality in the conditions, and there's been brutality in the response," she told Axios.
The Delaney Hall standoff carries particular weight given how Mullin's predecessor exited the job. Kristi Noem's tenure as DHS secretary unraveled following months of backlash over the immigration crackdown, intensified after two U.S. citizens were killed by federal agents in Minnesota. Trump moved swiftly to replace her with Mullin, then a U.S. senator from Oklahoma, who now finds himself managing a department still roiling with budget disputes and contract complications.
The private contractor operating the facility, the GEO Group, secured a 15-year contract valued at approximately $1 billion to provide "support services" at Delaney Hall. The center itself has already been a flashpoint for physical confrontations involving elected officials. Senator Andy Kim said he was hit with pepper ball spray at the site, and Representative LaMonica McIver faced DOJ charges over an altercation outside the facility last year. McIver has denied any wrongdoing.
The turmoil at Delaney Hall mirrors escalating tensions at immigration detention facilities nationwide. Clergy have mobilized at the Broadview facility near Chicago, demanding access, while Minnesota saw dozens of protesters arrested outside federal buildings earlier this year during unrest that turned deadly.
Author James Rodriguez: "Mullin's early weeks on the job show he's willing to dig in on hardline immigration positions, but Delaney Hall is testing whether that stance can survive sustained pressure from states and activists with real investigative power."
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