Sherrill says NJ Health Department denied full access to Delaney Hall
Just days after Gov. Mikie Sherrill was denied access to the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, the state’s Department of Health was also stopped from obtaining full access to the facility on May 28.
Sherrill announced in a statement that the Health Department tried to conduct a health inspection at Delaney Hall on Thursday and was denied full access but did inspect “only a limited part of the facility.”
“We will review and share the department’s findings from the limited portion it was allowed to inspect, and we will continue to pursue all appropriate avenues for demanding transparency and ensuring humane conditions for the individuals being held at the facility,” the governor said. “New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down.”
U.S. Sen. Andy Kim was pepper-sprayed outside the facility on May 25 while visiting in support of detainees who are protesting their treatment with a hunger strike that started late last week.
Kim spoke of the “chaos” at the facility and the “lawlessness of the Trump administration” that has led to the conditions inside and out.
When he exited the detention center, Kim said, he found a “standoff” between armed federal officers and protesters. He said he “tried to get in between the ICE officers and the crowd to de-escalate,” referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“ICE officials told me that they were going to push through the crowd with their vehicle and they wanted to get some vehicles out of there,” Kim said. “I tried to arrange a situation where people would not get hurt, where there wouldn’t be a confrontation. Unfortunately, ICE just continued on.”
The senator said the conditions inside were “inhumane.” The detainees have called for the release of individuals who are elderly, young, seriously ill or injured.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has denied that there is a hunger strike in the facility and said on cable news that he is considering moving Customs and Border Protection agents from Newark Airport to Delaney Hall.
"That may affect international flights coming in and out of their airport because I'm going to have to pull Customs and Border Protection officers out of being able to process international flights and put them helping our ICE agents," he said.
New Jersey is home to eight matches for the FIFA World Cup, including the final, beginning in two weeks.
The strike followed complaints from detainees alleging medical neglect, lack of air conditioning, lack of food, and rotten and spoiled meals. On May 23, immigrant advocates alleged that a few detainees involved in the strike were targeted for retaliation. One was threatened with solitary confinement, and at least two others had their visit time cut to just 5 or 10 minutes, the advocates said.
Delaney Hall opened on May 1, 2025, as a 1,000-bed private immigration detention center, as part of the Trump administration's aggressive push to expand detention capacity.
Reps. Rob Menendez, LaMonica McIver, Nellie Pou, Analilia Mejia and Bonnie Watson Coleman have been conducting oversight visits to assess conditions.
McIver faces federal assault charges after allegedly hitting a federal law enforcement agent during a scuffle outside the facility last spring.