Protesters rally outside Delaney Hall
State launches inquire into conditions
By: Scott Fallon
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Delaney Hall mitigation detention center in Newark on Saturday, August 8, [2026] in the wake of two recent reported deaths of detainees.
.....
The demonstration was mostly peaceful,but two protesters were hit with pepper spray by the center's staff after the protesters grabbed he entry gate.
.....
Protesters yelled at staff members near the gate as workers and visitors made their way into and out of the facility. "Go back into your hole, troll," they shouted at a gate guard near an entry shack.
..... At least four detainees were released Saturday afternoon, August 8. [2026] A group of volunteers helping detainees reintegrate rang bells each time someone was released. Volunteers provide food, gift cards to grocery stores and even Uber rides as far as Philadelphia.
..... Dozens of visitors left the facility, many with tears in there eyes and small children in their hands.
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The rally was part of a "National Day of Action" held across the United States that centered around immigrant rights.
..... The
rally was held just a day after state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport launched an investigation into alleged civil rights violations by the GEO Group, the Florida company that is operating Delaney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under a 15-year, $1 billion contract.
..... Delaney Hall has been at the center of the debate in New Jersey over President Donald Trump's escalated actions to arrest undocumented immigrants since he took office last year. [2025]
..... Family members of detainees have said their loved one have been served spoiled food, been denied medical care, suffered physical abuse and endure a lack of basic hygiene products at the 1,000-bed detention center.
..... The conditions prompted a hunger strike in May. [2026]
..... Two detainees who have died since Delaney opened in May 2025 have been pullback identified, although there may have been a third death recently tied to the facility. Among them was Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, 39, who died August 1 [2026] after falling ill. His family said he did not get proper medical care and demand an investigation into his death.
..... The probe announced August 7 [2026] by Davenport, a Democrat, will see if any action or inaction by the GEO Group violated the rights of detainees.
..... Governor Mikie Sherrill, a fellow Democrat, said executives have stopped efforts by her administration to conduct a full health inspection" of the center.
..... The state Department of Health sued the GEO Group in June [2026] alleging that its inspectors were not allowed to observe conditions in the medical unit, bathrooms, showers or sleeping areas or the facility's heating, ventilation and air conditions system.
..... A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the time said inspectors were allowed access to Delaney Hall "where appropriate."
..... "We will not tolerate a facility, that abdicates any transparency and accountability," Sherrill said in a statement.