Overview
- Advocates and attorneys say hundreds of detainees began a hunger and labor strike that started on Friday, May 22, to protest spoiled or infested food and poor medical care inside Delaney Hall.
- Families and lawyers report detainees were served expired meals and meals with worms, that people with cancer and other serious conditions lacked care, and that some hunger strikers were moved or put in solitary as alleged retaliation.
- Protests outside the privately run facility have turned violent, with federal officers using pepper spray, pepper balls and batons, multiple arrests reported and at least one senator saying he was hit with chemical agents while trying to de‑escalate.
- The Department of Homeland Security and GEO Group say there is no hunger strike and that detainees receive three meals a day and 24/7 medical care, while New Jersey health officials were allowed to inspect only a limited part of the center on Thursday.
- Lawmakers and state leaders are pressing for independent federal and state investigations and possible closure of Delaney Hall, and oversight access, detainee transfers and medical outcomes are the key issues to watch next.