6 events in Passaic County with a date

Relatives of Delaney Hall detainees are speaking out

By: Ricardo Kaulessar
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... a Delaney Hall detainee who was picked up while on diaper run sits in solitary confinement, nursing bruises he said he suffered while begin transported there.
..... Another detainee who was reported to authorities while he was checking in for his visa appointment is being kept in a "red zone" after an altercation on May 28, [2026] when detainees were reportedly pepper-sprayed and one was beaten.
..... Families of detainees who have been suffering financially after the loss of their breadwinners are positing GoFundMe requests, trying to make ends meet.
..... and as protesters and official stake sides over Delaney Hall, the immigrant detention center in Newark, a hunger strike inside is going into its third week, with detainees protesting what of the strike, his wife, Gabriela, said.
..... "They assumed that he was an organizer of the hunger strike inside because I organized a protest outside," she said.
..... The most prominent GoFundMe campaign is for Kearny resident Soto, a 31-year-old Peruvian man. The effort has raised over $60,000 since April. [2026] the money raised had helped Gabriela retain an immigration attorney.
..... Soto, the father of two young children, had been detained since February 2 [2026] after Mitigation and Customs Enforcement agents picked him up after he went shopping of diapers. He spent over three months in Delaney Hall. He participated in the first few days of the strike until he was taken out of the facility in the early morning of Memorial Day, after protesters blocked a previous attempt. He was moved to solitary confinement at the Elizabeth Detention Center.
..... When Gabriela spoke to NorthJersey.com on June 1, [2026] she was traveling to the Elizabeth facility, which is operated by CoreCivic, the world's largest prison company, hoping that she could be allowed inside to see him. She said her husband was not in good spirits in the limited conversations she had with him.
..... "He's still shaken up because he doesn't have phone calls; he just can't do anything," Soto said. "If a guard is nice enough, he will give him a phone call. He's depressed in general. he is just scared."
..... She said her husband also has bruises that he suffered when officers were taking him out of Delaney Hall.
..... DHS said the faculty provides adequate medical care.
..... "It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody," a DHS spokesperson said. "this includes medical, dental, and mental health service as available and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. For many illegal aliens this is the best health care they have received their entire lives."

'She called immigration on him personally'

..... Tatiana B. has faith that her husband, Jorge R., will be released from Delaney Hall soon.
..... "There;s always that hope. We are people who have faith that god knows why, and how, and when things happen," Tatiana said.
..... Tatiana, a Mercer County resident who asked that her family's last name not be used for fear of retaliation against detainees, said her husband had been in Delaney Hall for much of the past tow months after a visa appointment in March [2026] in Elizabeth went awry.
..... He went for a check-in for a U visa which is a non-immigrant visa designated for crime victims (and their immediate family members) who assist law enforcement and government officials in the investigation or prosecution of that crime.
..... "They sent out a paper for him to go to his appointment," Tatiana said.
..... "The lady who was doing his biometric, she called immigration on him personally."
..... Jorge, who is in his 30s, came to the United States from Guatemala as a minor in 2005 and has spent years working in roofing and contracting to support his family.
..... Tatiana said her husband and fellow detainees in his unit are being kept in a "red zone" due to an altercation on May 28, [2026] and one was beaten.
..... DHS said detainees are being treated fairly.
..... "All detainees are provide with three meals a day, clear water, clothing= bedding, showers, soap and toiletries," a DHS spokesperson said.
..... "Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dietitians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than citizens."
..... And while detainees use to have access to tablets like iPads to order their food, officials have left them with one tablet for everyone, Tatiaa said.
..... "They have to make one single line for one tablet," Tatiana said. "they have [detainees] in their rooms, and they're not allowed to be in the unit aisles."
..... Detainees use tablets to offer food if they choose not to eat in the common dining area.
..... Some who can afford it and have been taking part in the strike have ordered food form the tablet, rather than eating what's served in the common dining area. Some other have chosen not to eat at all and just drink water.
..... "My husband is a foodie person, so I don't think he can hold that long. He snacks on cookies," Tatiana said.
..... "People who have serious crime in this country that are in jail, they get better meals than what these detainees are getting."
..... She said there was so much support and protesting, but was conceder whenever the protests got too violent, because there could be backlash against detainees.
..... Tatiana said that what has been helpful to her while her husband, the breadwinner for her and their two children, had been detained has been the GoFundMe page set up in the past week. She said $5,500 target has been raised.
..... "It been very helpful ... one of my kids has stomach issues, and I have to get him special milk, and then I can't offer him any type of food, it has to be special food, or he will throw up," Tatiana said.
..... Other detainees whose families have set up GoFundMe campaigns include:
* Nicolas Carranza Herrera, a South Jersey resident who was detained on May 5 [2026] after a vehicle stop by federal agents.
* Roel Serrano, a Plainfield resident, who was detained by immigrant agents on May 20 [20263] in Elizabeth during an appointment for his residency case while accompanied by his young daughter.
* Edison (no last name provided), who was released from Delaney hall a few days after the strike began. He is using the money raised to provide for his children in Ecuador and find longterm housing.

Defending detention

..... The Department of Homeland security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to specific questions from NorthJersey.com.
..... Instead, a DHS spokespersons issued an extensive statement echoing what Trump administration officials have said about the strike in recent weeks.
..... "Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP [customs and Border Protection] Home App. The United States is offering illegals aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return."

HOME