NJ Congressional Dems Back Effort To Ban Private Prison Contracts With ICE

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — “Delaney Hall, and every detention center like it, are a moral stain on our country.” That was the accusation from U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, who is backing a bill that would ban federal immigration authorities from using prisons run by private companies.

On Friday, Booker joined two other Democratic congress members from New Jersey – U.S. Reps LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez Jr. – at a news conference outside Delaney Hall in Newark.

The federal lawmakers are among those supporting the “Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act,” which would impact facilities like Delaney Hall.

The 1,000-bed prison is the first federal detention center to open under President Donald Trump’s second term. Its owner, the GEO Group – one of the largest private prison companies in the nation – was awarded a 15-year contract that it valued at $1 billion to run the new detention center last year.

Delaney Hall has seen a wave of controversy since reopening, including allegations of poor treatment of detainees and visitors, several arrests involving demonstrators, federal charges against the city’s mayor and a U.S. congresswoman, a high-profile prison escape, and a detainee who died in federal custody.

Trump has claimed that a nationwide crackdown is needed to push back against a “large-scale invasion” of illegal immigration. On the first day of his second term, the White House announced a sweeping wave of presidential actions and executive orders.

“Over the last four years, the United States has endured a large-scale invasion at an unprecedented level,” Trump said. “Millions of illegal aliens from nations and regions all around the world successfully entered the United States where they are now residing.”

“This cannot stand,” the president added.

Other lawmakers have disagreed, including Booker, who toured Delaney Hall before last week’s news conference. The senator has previously spoken out against the conditions at Delaney Hall, condemned its operators and called for the site’s closure.

“Delaney Hall, and every detention center like it, are a moral stain on our country,” alleged Booker, a Newark resident.

“The GEO Group was awarded a 15-year, $1 billion-dollar contract by the Department of Homeland Security to warehouse our immigrant neighbors,” Booker said. “As taxpayers, we’re footing the bill for a system that is brutalizing those detained within it.”

“Enough is enough,” he added.

THE PROPOSED LAW

According to Booker, the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act would phase out the federal use of private detention facilities and jails over a three-year period.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would still be able to house federal detainees at government-run prisons or jails run by nonprofits.

New Jersey lawmakers passed a similar ban on the state level in 2021. But New Jersey’s law faced stiff legal challenge from prison companies – who eventually saw a federal court rule in their favor. READ MORE: NJ Can't Ban Private Prisons From Profiting Off ICE Contracts, Court Rules

If it crosses the finish line, here’s what else the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act would do, Booker said:

• Prohibit the detention of families and children in family detention
• Repeal mandatory detention and replace it with a system that requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to present evidence that the people in its detention centers are a “threat to public safety or national security”
• Require the DHS to establish civil detention standards that provide, at minimum, the level of protection in the American Bar Association’s Civil Immigration Detention Standards
• Mandate the inspector general of the DHS to conduct unannounced inspections with meaningful penalties for failure to comply with standards
• End the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention

Booker’s announcement saw a split reaction on social media.

“Fantastic of you, I hope to see more action from politicians with bravery and a spine,” one person commented.

“Ever think about shifting focus to actual U.S. citizens or New Jersey residents?” another quipped.

“Explain to me the difference between Obama's DHS and Trump's DHS, then explain to me why you think we have these differences,” another commenter wrote.

Although the focus on federal immigration enforcement has ramped up since Trump took office, large-scale ICE raids also took place in New Jersey during President Biden’s term.

The agency’s Newark field office processes federal detainees from across the state. More than 500 people were “removed” from the country by deportation officers with the ICE office in Newark over a three-month period in 2019.

A previous version of the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act was introduced in Congress under former President Joe Biden, before President Trump started his second term.

‘THIS SYSTEM CANNOT BE REFORMED’

McIver and Menendez Jr. – both of whom represent Newark in Congress – supported the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act alongside Booker.

“We keep coming back to Delaney because what we are seeing from ICE is unjust,” asserted McIver, who still faces federal charges after a clash outside the prison in May 2025.

“Last month, a man detained at Delaney Hall died in ICE custody,” she continued. “Nationwide, our neighbors are being targeted by Trump’s inhumane DHS, detained without any process, denied their basic rights, even killed – all under a system designed to avoid accountability.”

“This legislation will phase out the use of private detention centers and hold currently open facilities accountable for unsafe conditions,” Menendez said.

“What we continue to see at Delaney Hall and in immigration detention centers across the country is a betrayal of the American Dream,” he added.

Several civil rights advocates backed the proposed law.

“With each day under the Trump administration, it becomes clearer that ICE is a lawless, rogue agency designed to violently detain and deport people while imposing harm and cruelty,” ACLU-New Jersey executive director Amol Sinha said.

“This mass detention system cannot be reformed – it is antithetical to basic human decency, the rule of law, and the spirit of our nation’s founding,” Sinha said.

“Every day there are reports of human rights violations at the hands of ICE,” said Nedia Morsy, director of Make the Road New Jersey.

“In this country, presidents come and go – but immigrants are here to stay,” Morsy said.

Other advocates argued that the proposal doesn’t go far enough.

Kathy O’Leary, New Jersey region coordinator for Pax Christi USA, told Essex Local that all ICE jails should be shut down and the agency should be defunded.

“Why aren’t we talking about abolishing ICE?” O’Leary questioned.

• See Related: Essex County Installs Restrooms Near ICE Detention Center After Complaints
• See Related: Senator Cory Booker Slams ICE Activity In Morris County

PRISON CONDITIONS

Some immigration advocates and local officials have claimed that conditions inside Delaney Hall are getting “increasingly more concerning,” with reports allegedly including lockdowns that last for days, verbal abuse from guards, inaccessible commissary funds and blocked phone numbers.

Other complaints have included claims of bad food and subpar access to medical care – allegations that the GEO Group has denied.

“We remain dedicated to providing high-quality services to those in our care, including include around-the-clock access to medical care, in-person and virtual legal and family visitation, general and legal library access, translation services, dietician-approved meals, religious and specialty diets, recreational amenities, and opportunities to practice their religious beliefs,” a spokesperson previously told Patch.

All of the company’s ICE processing centers are independently accredited by the American Correctional Association and the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the GEO Group website states.

Some Republican politicians – including U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew – have claimed that detainees at the controversial facility are being “treated with dignity” and are being housed in a place that “exceeds the standards of many of our own U.S. prisons.”

These assurances haven't stopped the complaints from advocates and local officials, however.

Some elected officials who have expressed concern about Delaney Hall include New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, and Assemblywomen Eliana Pintor Marin and Shanique Speight.

Others have included the Essex County Board of Commissioners.

“You should be ashamed of this facility and the treatment of those being detained here,” several members of the Essex County Board of Commissioners wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem last October.

“The detainees of Delaney Hall deserve to be treated with dignity and respect as they await a trial, not treated inhumanely,” the commissioners urged.

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