Overview
- Protests that intensified over the Memorial Day weekend followed claims by about 300 detainees and their lawyers that a hunger strike began to protest poor food and inadequate medical care inside Delaney Hall.
- Newark imposed an immediate nighttime curfew in a half‑mile radius of the facility and police used tear gas to disperse crowds, with roughly 20 to 25 protesters detained in recent operations.
- Federal officials, including DHS, have denied there is a hunger strike or inhumane conditions, while a Brooklyn man, Nicholas Matthew Scelfo, was federally charged for allegedly threatening to kill an ICE agent and his family.
- Mayor Ras Baraka said the city will seek expanded lawsuits if municipal inspectors are denied access to the privately run GEO Group facility and argued local laws apply despite the federal contract.
- The episode highlights broader tensions over private ICE detention oversight, with visits to Delaney Hall recently restored under security controls and advocates warning continued clashes could limit access and legal oversight for detainees.