Hundreds of migrants stage hunger strike at the Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey
Family members and state lawmakers are demanding access to the Newark facility amid growing complaints about spoiled food, lack of medical care, and threats against inmates
Nearly 300 migrants detained at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark have launched a hunger and work strike to denounce 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 outside the building to demand access to the facility and to denounce alleged reprisals against the detainees.
Detainees inside the facility, operated by the private company GEO Group, claim to face overcrowding, a lack of adequate medical care, spoiled food, and prolonged delays in their immigration proceedings. Some reported finding live worms in their food and alleged that authorities are denying them due process to pressure them into accepting self-deportation.
According to activists outside the center, shortly after those communications, guards restricted detainees’ access to phones and tablets. Sally Pillay, of 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 news outlet. “This is punishment and retaliation because of the ongoing organizing going on inside,” she said.
The situation has drawn 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 that she had heard accounts from people who have been waiting nearly a year for court hearings, as well as cases of detainees who remain in custody despite having obtained habeas corpus rulings or even deportation orders months ago. She also questioned the workload of the immigration courts. “One judge has 74 cases before them just on Tuesday. This is clearly a farce of a judicial process,” she told CBS. Menendez said he was concerned 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 following the demonstrations. She also reported 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 who is 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 attempting to leave Delaney Hall because Soto was being transported. His wife said he was dragged into the vehicle, from which he later shouted and banged on the window. It is currently unknown where he was taken.
The Department of Homeland Security rejected the allegations regarding conditions inside the facility. In a statement released on Saturday, a spokesperson stated that all detainees receive “three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries,” as well as medical, dental, and psychological care. DHS also stated that “there is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time,” despite testimonies from family members, activists, and lawmakers who visited the site.
Delaney Hall, a facility with a capacity of 1,000 people located in an industrial area of Newark, has been the subject of controversy since its reopening last year. Detained migrants have repeatedly reported problems with overcrowding, poor food, and a lack of medical care.
In 2025, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside the center during a protest, although the charges were dropped shortly thereafter. That same year, a riot broke out among detainees, resulting in the escape of four people, and months later, a migrant died in custody less than 24 hours after being admitted to the facility.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill publicly called for access to Delaney Hall and said she was “deeply disturbed by reports of the poor conditions” inside the facility. “I will continue to call for the closure of Delaney Hall because of reports like these,” she said in a statement.
The strikers have also requested visits from Senator Cory Booker and other state officials, as protests continue outside the center and pressure mounts for federal authorities to respond to the allegations.
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