Overview
- Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city will expand its existing litigation to seek closure of Delaney Hall, a move announced Tuesday as protests continued outside the facility.
- The New Jersey attorney general and health department sued GEO Group on Tuesday asking a court to force full access for health inspectors after officials say they were limited to the kitchen and denied entry to medical and sleeping areas.
- People detained at Delaney Hall and advocacy groups have reported a hunger and labor strike, complaints of rotting food, inadequate medical care, high rates of COVID and flu, and at least one alleged miscarriage while GEO Group and DHS have publicly denied a coordinated hunger strike.
- Daily demonstrations have produced repeated clashes with federal and state officers, prompted a nighttime curfew around the site, led to dozens of arrests, and required state police to establish protest zones to manage public safety.
- Delaney Hall is run by GEO Group under a multiyear federal contract and has faced prior permit and oversight fights, so the lawsuits could trigger court rulings on private contractor accountability, state inspection authority, and wider public‑health safeguards.