Detainee who alleged rape is moved from Delaney Hall
By: Hannan Adely
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... A Colombian immigrant who reported that he was raped at Delaney Hall was transferred to Mississippi two days later, further traumatizing him and hampering an investigation, said his attorney and court filings.
.....
Hieison Ultengo Ultengo of Passaic was being held at Delaney Hall in Newark when the assault allegedly occurred in the early morning hours of June 25. [2026] He was evaluated at university Hospital and then taken back to the detention center, where he was put in medical isolation, said his attorney, Catherine Reilly.
..... Less than 48 hours later, his family learned from other detainees that he had been put on a transfer bus. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved him to Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, Mississippi.
..... Reilly said the transfer makes it harder to preserve evidence, interview witnesses and maintain access to counsel. It also interrupted medical treatment for her client, who HIV-positive, and separated him from his husband and 8-year-old son, who live in New Jersey.
..... "After having gone through this physically, to be transfered away form family and friends, it;s shut astonishing that after he experience this trauma hat they would transfer him," Reilly said.
..... The GEO Group, which operates the private detention center, referred questions to ICE. An ICE spokesperson said local authorities were notified of the allegation and that the detainee was promptly taken to a hospital for medical evaluation and a forensic examination. The ICE Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate as required by law, the spokespeople said, without comment on his transfer.
..... Ultengo Ultengo, a green card applicant with no criminal history, should not have been in detention, Reilly said.
..... Three weeks earlier a U.S. District Court judge had agreed that his detention was unlawful. But a this hearing days later, an immigration court judge denied bond.
..... His case reflects a rapidly changing immigration system in which a growing range of non-citizens - including asylum seekers, people with pending green card misapplication, in some cases, lawful permanent residents - are increasingly likely to be held in immigration detention.
..... Under the Trump administration, immigration judges have denied bond at record-high rates, according to an analysis by bklg.org an Online service for immigration lawyers. Nationwide, immigration judges denied bond in 63% of cases in 2025, a rate that climbed to 68% in the first four months of 2026. In the Third Circuit, which includes New Jersey, denial rates rose from 64% to 74%.
..... Attorneys say the Trump administration's immigration policies and legal directives have narrowed judges' discretion to issue bond and release detainees.
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Meanwhile, ICE has increasingly transferred people between detention centers without notice. those transfers can disrupt legal representation and, in cases where individuals challenge their detention in federal court, force them to refile their petitions in another jurisdiction.
..... Their prolonged detention in what attorneys and advocates describe as poor living conditions at ICE facilities puts then at risk, they said.
..... "People are under a lot of pressure and forced in together," Reilly said. "It's a situation that is designed to not be good for anybody involved, and you have incidents like what happened at Delaney."
Routine check-in, then arrest
..... Ultego Ultengo entered the United States in April 2022 and sought asylum, saying he feared persecution in Colombia. in September 2024, he married a U.S. citizen, and the following year his family-based application for a green card was approved.
..... Believing he would be able to adjust his status through his marriage, he later withdrew his asylum application despite previously reeving a credible-fear finding, Reilly said. he also feared that federal authorities would send him to what they describe as a "safe third country."
..... He had complied with ICE reporting requirements, but after a check-in with mitigation authorities in October 2025, he was detained and taken to Delaney Hall.
..... Reilly said her client has no criminal history has strong ties to New Jersey and needs ongoing claimed and psychiatric care.
..... "He poses no risk. He has substantial ties. It makes no sense," said Reilly, who was a trial attorney for ICE during the Biden administration.
emergency court filing
..... On June 30, [2026] Reilly filed an emergency motion asking a federal judge to block further transfer and order her client's return to New Jersey or release under supervision. the motion also calls for preservation of surveillance video, medical records, detention records and any investigate material tied to the alleged assault.
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The motion argues that he should be released because he has suffered "extraordinary harm while in immigration detention." In addition to the alleged sexual assault, it cites an incident on May 28 [2026] in which he was knocked to the ground during a confrontation between guards and detainees. Court records say he was injured, taken to a hospital and continues to suffer headaches and anxiety from that incident.
..... A federal judge denied the emergency motion on July 1, [2026] finding that because ICE had transferred Ultengo Ulterngo to Mississippi, any challenge to his detention must be field there. Reilly has also asked ICE officials in New Orleans to exercise their discretion to release him.