INTIMIDATION, LIES, AND RETALIATION

LABOR AND HUNGER STRIKE CONTINUES AT DELANEY HALL

NEWARK, NJ, May 26, 2026 — As hundreds of men and women detained in Newark’s Delaney Hall ICE prison continue a coordinated labor and hunger strike and continue their demands to meet with New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and the release of medically vulnerable detainees, while reporting escalating retaliation, intimidation, and punitive transfers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and GEO Group guards.

Participants in the strike are calling for:

1. An immediate in-person meeting with Governor Mikie Sherrill at Delaney Hall to directly observe conditions and hear testimony from detained individuals

2. The immediate release of vulnerable detainees, including elderly individuals, pregnant women, young people, pregnant women and those with serious medical conditions.

3. Meaningful review of immigration cases and habeas filings

4. An end to what they describe as coercive pressure to sign deportation or voluntary departure documents.

Since the start of the strike on Friday, May 22, participants and advocates report a pattern of escalating enforcement actions against those who have refused to eat or participate in GEO Group’s exploitative work program including threats of transfers against individuals who have communicated with outside advocates or elected officials.

ICE and GEO Group personnel have used intimidation tactics and have attempted to discourage participation in the strike, including through unit-level interventions and threats of disciplinary consequences.

Despite efforts by activists and legislators to work with facility administrators, the GEO Group and ICE are poised to cancel the 3rd visitation day in a row adding group punishment to the list of abuses they are inflicting on the people in detention and their families

Participants in the strike confirm that they have communicated that DHS has brought several different units down for meals simultaneously to create the illusion that no hunger strike is occurring.

Outside the facility, confrontations with Department of Homeland Security personnel during demonstrations, including the use of pepper spray against protesters.

A participant of the labor and hunger strike stated:

“We are uplifting our voices, across all the detention centers, of the injustice we are suffering from being detained in these detention centers.

When we came into this country, we were allowed parole and a work permit to be legal in this country. We have people who are married, who have their marriage petitions approved, and are awaiting their residence card, yet are still detained and their cases are yet to be resolved - this is neglicency. They are being told that in order to adjust their status they need to go back to their home country to continue their status of adjustment case.

Who will then take care of their family and kids? Who will take them to school? Who will pay their rent and feed them? Kids will be left alone, without support and love from their parents. Kids will suffer psychologically and physically if their parents get deported….they force people who don’t know how to read to sign their own voluntary departure, for others they lie and offer money to sign documents, but don’t end up giving them any nor disclose its voluntary departure.

They make you believe you only have two options, deportation or voluntary departure. We demand the judges are non basis and fair to every individual case. In the detention centers in Minneapolis, Chicago, and Boston they were able to fight to have 300 people released due to the protests outside and having their voices and demands uplifted.

We have people sleeping on the floor for not being processed quick enough. They neglect medications for people who are in dire need of it. All of our bonds are denied and they are telling us to file habeas corpus for everyone that is in here, they constantly tell us we are a danger to society. The same judge that denies your bond is the same judge that reviews our immigration court cases and that is not fair.

It’s not fair to take money away from all the families in this detention center. We want to be free. Majority of us were arrested during our check in appointments with immigration, so now even if we abide the law, pay taxes and do our due diligence, we are still detained for going to immigration appointments voluntarily.

We were arrested due to the change in government, a political prosecution. They are people scared to go back to their home country due to prosecution but this country now is doing the same, with their racist political prosecution. We are political prisoners. It is not fair that good and humble people, that are law abiding, are detained against their will for doing everything they were told to do.

We plead that everyone hears our voices and our demands. We need someone, with authority, to come visit us and make a change for our livelihood. The immigrant officials would only talk to people in regards to voluntary departure or deportation, but now they’re going unit by unit asking our dislikes of the food and living conditions.

While those things are important, we demand all our immigration cases be reviewed and processed fairly. This is why we are on the hunger and labor strike. Our labor isn’t valued. We don’t get a letter of recommendation for being a good worker, for the hard labor we provide here to better our living conditions. We were the ones who shoveled the snow during the winter, we are the ones serving the food, we are the ones who clean the units, we are the ones who clean the bathrooms. We are not recognized or valued for our labor.

People who are out on bond are threatened to not speak to the media or press or else they will be arrested by ICE again. That’s why we are speaking, from the heart of the detention center, our pleads and demands. We need a congress person, or any higher official, to help liberate us. We are not criminals. We are fathers who don’t want to be separated from our families. We will hold our hunger strike until our voices are heard. We admire and appreciate all the protesters outside and may God bless everyone.”

Several participants added that detained workers are responsible for facility maintenance, food service, and sanitation tasks, for $1-$2 per day and say their labor is not often compensated, sometimes for days, weeks or months.

Participants will continue the hunger and labor strike until their demands are addressed and outside oversight is granted.

Eyes on ICE New Jersey (EOINJ) stands in unwavering solidarity with those detained inside Delaney Hall and will remain present throughout this struggle-continuing to document conditions, support impacted families, and bear witness to the treatment of those inside.

ABOUT EYES ON ICE NEW JERSEY (EOINJ)
We are a grassroots coalition of individuals and organizations whose primary focus is providing community support for our neighbors who are experiencing the trauma of having a loved one kidnapped and held by ICE. We call for all immigrant detention facilities in NJ to be closed. We advocate for the release of all detained community members in our state and beyond.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Kathy O’Leary 973-610-1684
Catalina Adorno, 201-598-4448
Jenny Garcia 201-874-1764

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