Delaney Hall letter recounts sickness and waiting
By: Ricardo Kaulessar
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... "Our American dream is safety and protection - with our families. Although this is difficult situation, we trust in God and believe in American justice."
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Those words of cautious optimism are part of a lengthy letter singed by 25 detainees held at Delaney Hall, the federal detention center on outskirts of Newark, that outlines the larger struggles of undocumented migrants in the immigration system. as well as specific problems the migrants ace in the detention centers where they have been kept, besides Delaney Hall.
..... The letter, "el grito de Nosotros - Our Cry: A letter from inside Delaney Hall," was made public on February 5 [2026] by the grassroots advocacy group eyes on ICE, which has been helping family members of detainees visiting Delaney Hall and documenting how Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff members treat detainees and visitors at the facility.
..... The group received the letter from a source close to the lead signee, Leonardo Villalba, who gave the letter to the source. Villalba has since been transferred to a facility in California, said Eyes on ICE.
.....In the letter, translated into English from Spanish, the detainees apologize for how entered the U.S., but with an explanation that they "ere experiencing safety circumstances that endangered our lives and the lives of some members of our family" in their home countries.
..... The letter then details specifically how detainees have gotten sick with the flu, stress, fever and general body aches, and the concern that it could lead to an outbreak in Delaney Hall. It also discusses how ICE agents have arrested those who are most vulnerable and placed them in overcrowded facilities like Delaney Hall, such as those with mental health issues, people who are deaf and non-verbal, elderly individuals and juveniles.
..... Stephanie Campos. a Jersey City resident who volunteers with Eyes on ICE, received the letter and confirmed its legitimacy based on past dealings with the source.
..... Two other volunteers whit Eyes of ICE also confirmed the veracity of the letter and the detainees based on their identification numbers.
..... Campos said the details in the letter did not surprise her, as the group has been speaking out on the issues addressed in the letter, which she noted was the first from detainees to be publicized.
..... "This is something that Eyes of ICE has been talking about for months now, since Delaney Hall happened. We've been talking about the lack of due process, we've been talking about the conditions, and we're been advocating," Campos said. "We've talked to senators, we've talked to county officials, we've written emails, and we've said this is happening.
..... "So, I am happy that 25 brave, brave individuals inside Delaney Hall put their words on paper and managed to get it out," she said.
..... The four page letter covers various aspects of an undocumented migrant;s life after entry into the United States, from being processed to being held in detention facilities like Delaney Hall where there are "Two, three, or more months of waiting to be sent back to our country of origin."
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It also highlights their frustrations and fears.
..... "We feel vulnerable, in a way, kidnapped or detained without justification. We see with profound helplessness and frustration that the right to due process & legal counsel were violated," the letter says.
..... The letter doesn't say exactly where the detainees are from, but the countries of Ecuador, Guatemala and Honduras are mentioned.
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The 1,196-bed Delaney Hall was the first immigrant detention center to open during the second term of President Donald Trump, during which the president has vowed to deport at least 11 million undocumented immigrants. Since opening, the facility has had a daily population of 905 people as of January 22, [2026] according to the transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
..... But those inside have to deal with substandard conditions, including inedible food and arbitrary visiting hours, they say.
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The facility also had its first reported death since opening, when Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian national detained at the facility, died there on December 12. [2025] ICE cited "suspected natural causes," but his family is calling for an investigation.
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NorthJersey.com contacted the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment on the letter but did not get an immediate response.