NJ Mayor Arrested Protesting Controversial New ICE Detention Facility

NEWARK, NJ — Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at a protest outside a controversial new ICE detention facility in Newark on Friday, which also drew multiple members of Congress to the prison gates.

Baraka – a candidate for New Jersey governor – was handcuffed and arrested, city spokespeople confirmed to Patch. A spokesperson for Baraka’s gubernatorial campaign said the mayor was transported to 620 Frelinghuysen Avenue #1 in Newark.

He has since been released from custody, reports say.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced plans to reopen Delaney Hall earlier this year. The 1,000-bed facility is the first federal detention center to open under President Donald Trump’s second term. It is run by the GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the world. The move allows ICE to expand its detention and deportation capacity in the Northeast region of the country.

ICE started housing detainees at Delaney Hall on May 1 – but not without protest.

Demonstrators have been gathering outside Delaney Hall for the past week, demanding that federal authorities pull back on their plans to make the center a hub for deportations in the region. Read More: Controversy Rages Over ICE Detention Center In New Jersey

Baraka has been among those leading the charge against the newly reopened detention center.

The reopening of Delaney Hall has seen pushback from Newark officials, who issued a “stop work” order in late March and have filed a lawsuit against the GEO Group. See Related: Newark Issues 'Stop Work' Order On New ICE Detention Center

The city’s mayor accused ICE of opening the facility “without following proper building safety protocols” and without the necessary construction permits, continued certificates of occupancy and requests to change the building’s use.

“They failed to give city officials access to conduct inspections required under municipal ordinances and state code,” Baraka alleged. “This violates city and state law.”

On Friday, protesters returned to the scene carrying a megaphone and hefting signs that read: "Abolish ICE."

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Make the Road New Jersey posted a video of a tense confrontation at the gates in the moments before Baraka's arrest (see below).

Alina Habba, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, accused Baraka of trespassing and ignoring multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the scene.

“He has willingly chosen to disregard the law,” the Trump-appointed federal prosecutor said. “That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody.”

“No one is above the law,” Habba insisted.

The state's new U.S. attorney also recently reported launching an investigation into Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin over a directive that tells local and state police not to cooperate with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement.

• See Related: U.S. Attorney Launches Investigation Into Top NJ Officials
• See Related: Ineligible Voter Purge Planned In NJ, Trump-Appointed Official Says

Three U.S. Congress members from New Jersey – Rep. LaMonica McIver, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. – also visited Delaney Hall on Friday, demanding entrance in order to carry out their “oversight authority” and inspect the situation firsthand.

“We’ve heard stories of what it’s like in other ICE prisons,” Watson Coleman said. “We’re exercising our oversight authority to see for ourselves.”

• See Related: Maggots, Squalor For ICE Detainees At 'Inhumane' NJ Jails, Report Says
• See Related: Jail Served Us Meatballs That Smelled Like Feces, NJ Inmate Says
• See Related: Prison Stuck ICE Detainees With Giant Underwear, Feds Say

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill – who is also running for governor as a Democrat in the June primary election – said Baraka’s arrest is an “absolute outrage” and called for his immediate release.

“The Trump administration’s decision to reopen Delaney Hall, a private, for-profit prison to detain immigrants won’t make New Jerseyans safer, and it won’t fix our broken immigration system,” she argued.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said Baraka's arrest is "disturbing and unnecessary."

"Law enforcement officers should have deescalated this situation," Booker said. "Mayor Baraka should be immediately released."

Gov. Murphy also commented on the situation, calling the arrest "unjust."

“Four years ago, I was proud to sign a law banning private immigration detention centers in New Jersey,” Murphy said. “And just last week, my administration was leading the fight to defend that law before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.”

“Mayor Baraka is an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbors,” the governor added. “ I am calling for his immediate release by federal law enforcement.”

Several advocates also blasted the mayor's arrest.

“Our next governor should be distinguished by the fights they choose to fight, and by the extent to which they'll go to stand up against injustice,” Dena Mottola Jaborska of New Jersey Citizen Action said.

“We urge all of our elected officials – and all New Jersey – to stand by Ras at this time,” Jaborska added.

“Mayor Baraka's detention is an affront to free speech and the right to protest,” said CAIR-NJ executive director Selaedin Maksut. “His actions were in defense of the Constitution and the rights of immigrants. We stand in solidarity with him and demand his immediate release.”

President Donald Trump has insisted that a nationwide crackdown is needed to push back against a “large-scale invasion” of illegal immigration.

“This cannot stand,” Trump said after being inaugurated for his second term. “A nation without borders is not a nation, and the federal government must act with urgency and strength to end the threats posed by an unsecured border.”

The facility’s owner, the GEO Group – one of the largest private prison companies in the nation – was recently awarded a 15-year contract that it valued at $1 billion to run the new detention center.

“We are continuing to prepare for what we believe is an unprecedented opportunity to help the federal government meet its expanded immigration enforcement priorities,” GEO Group executive chair George Zoley said.

Meanwhile, advocates have argued that the reopening of Delaney Hall – which formerly held immigration detainees until it closed in 2017 and was turned into a halfway house – is a severe blow to constitutional rights.

It’s also a violation of New Jersey state law, advocates say.

Under a 2021 state law, all prisons in New Jersey – public or private – are banned from making new contracts with ICE to hold federal detainees. Prisons also can’t expand or renew old agreements.

The law has seen pushback since Gov. Phil Murphy signed it in 2021, however.

The GEO Group and CoreCivic – which runs the Elizabeth Detention Center in Union County – have challenged the state ban in court. The administration of former president Joe Biden took the side of private prison companies in that case, arguing that ICE needed detention centers near airports to expedite operations. A judge ruled in 2023 that CoreCivic could keep its jail in Elizabeth open.

Federal authorities and prison companies are now seeking to add more detention space in New Jersey, despite the state’s ban.

Trump’s immigration crackdown will likely create a massive profit for the GEO Group and CoreCivic.

According to the GEO Group, the 15-year, fixed-price contract for Delaney Hall is expected to generate in excess of $60 million in annualized revenues for GEO in the first full year of operations. The company estimated the 15-year value of the contract with normal cost of living adjustments to be approximately $1 billion.

According to Open Secrets, the GEO Group spent $1.38 million lobbying the federal government in 2024, and CoreCivic spent $1.77 million. Much of their focus was the appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the budget for ICE.

The day after Trump was reelected to his second term, the companies’ stock prices soared: GEO Group’s by about 41 percent and CoreCivic’s by nearly 29 percent.

• See Related: 2 Private Prison Companies With NJ Ties May Score Big Profits From Trump Deportations

The reopening of Delaney Hall has seen a vocal outcry from immigrant rights supporters and some North Jersey residents. Hundreds of people gathered outside the facility in March, demanding that ICE put the reopening on ice.

“Nearly 25 percent of New Jersey’s population are immigrants,” an advocate charged. “ICE has no place here.”

• See Related: Hundreds Protest Against Reopening ICE Detention Facility In NJ

Activists have continued to defend the state’s 2021 ban on ICE prison contracts, rallying in Philadelphia at a federal Third Circuit Court on May 1 to fight back against detention expansion in New Jersey.

“Mass detention is a cruel, failed system that inflicts irreparable harm on our communities – it has no place in our state,” urged Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice.

“Our communities are watching, and we won’t stop until the ICE detention ban is fully defended and upheld,” agreed Eliana Fernandez, director of organizing at Make the Road New Jersey.

• See Related: Activists Protest Outside New ICE Detention Center In Newark

The march towards reopening Delany Hall has continued despite this opposition, with ICE slamming the city’s legal pushback as “aggressive and legally unjustified.”

Although the focus on federal immigration enforcement has ramped up since Trump took office, ICE raids also took place in New Jersey during Biden’s watch. Read More: NJ Activists Say Biden’s Playbook On Immigration Is Similar To Trump’s

A major immigration sweep took place in North Jersey the week before Trump’s inauguration, with ICE’s Newark field office arresting 33 non-citizens who have committed or been accused of crimes. Read More: Newark ICE Office Makes 33 Arrests, Deportations Loom

The Newark field office is located at 970 Broad Street, and processes federal detainees from across the state. Prior to New Jersey’s ban on ICE contracts took effect, hundreds of people were being arrested and deported from the office every month. Read More: ICE In NJ Deported 500 People From Country In 3 Months, Feds Say

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