NJ Seniors Protest At ICE Prison In Newark, Demand Better Conditions For Detainees

NEWARK, NJ — Some needed canes, others leaned on walkers. But together, a group of politically active seniors say they wouldn’t have let anything stop them from showing up at a federal immigration detention center in North Jersey last weekend.

A group of older adults from the Arbor Terrace Senior Residence in Teaneck rallied outside Delaney Hall in Newark on Saturday, calling for due process for immigrants, better conditions for detainees and visitors, and the “closure of all ICE detention camps.”

Ranging in age from 85 to 97-years-old, the “Arbor Advocates” arrived in a minivan with gifts for visitors at the prison: supermarket gift cards, and two large bags filled with homemade scarves and hats.

The attendees included former New Jersey Sen. Loretta Weinberg, 91, who said that many seniors like herself want the United States to “do a 350-degree turn and stand up for that better life for all.”

“To live in a community of so many people of my age still feeling they can make the world better is a privilege,” Weinberg said.

The Arbor Advocates have also been active at local No Kings protests and anti-gun violence rallies in Teaneck.

Other activists and groups were at the scene of last weekend’s protest in Newark, including Kathy O'Leary of Pax Christi New Jersey, who alleged that conditions for detainees and visitors have “gone backwards” since last spring’s hunger and labor strike.

Sally Pillay, director of Mami Chelo Foundation, accused ICE of trying to “fill a quota” – releasing some and allowing others to languish inside the prison.

“It's all about profit,” agreed Paula Rogovin, co-founder of the Teaneck Peace and Justice Vigil.

DELANEY HALL: A BRIEF BACKGROUND

Delaney Hall was the first federal detention center to reopen under President Donald Trump’s second term. The facility is run by the GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the nation, which was awarded a 15-year contract valued at $1 billion to run the facility.

The prison formerly held immigration detainees for the federal government from 2011 to 2017 under the Obama administration, until it closed and was turned into a halfway house. Delaney Hall has seen a wave of controversy since it began holding ICE detainees again under the Trump administration, including allegations of poor treatment, federal charges against the city’s mayor and a U.S. congresswoman, and a high-profile prison escape.

Advocates and lawmakers have also been raising an outcry over three deaths that took place while detainees were in custody at Delaney Hall this year.

Hundreds of detainees launched a hunger and labor strike at the prison in May. Detainees alleged they are facing “inhumane” conditions, such as a lack of medical care, bad food, forced labor and an unfair court system.

Federal authorities and spokespeople with the GEO Group have repeatedly denied the allegations of mistreatment at the prison.

A Homeland Security spokesperson previously told Patch that the health care at Delaney Hall is “the best many aliens have received in their entire lives,” pointing to mandatory assessments for new arrivals, access to “24-hour emergency care” and meals that are “certified by dieticians.”

The GEO Group has also denied the allegations from detainees and advocates, claiming that they were instigated by politically motivated outside groups as part of a campaign to abolish ICE.

“The support services GEO provides 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 said.

Homeland Security officials, including Secretary Markwayne Mullin, have insisted that Delaney Hall is housing some of the “worst of the worst” criminals in New Jersey.

Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have pushed back against the claim that most of the immigrants imprisoned at facilities like Delaney Hall are “criminals,” however.

Earlier this year, data research organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that out of 60,311 people held in ICE detention across the nation, about 70.8 percent had no criminal conviction before being apprehended – and many of those who do were convicted only of minor offenses such as traffic violations.

Catch up with some of our recent coverage about Delaney Hall below (click headlines to read the article):

• Related: NJ Lawmakers Clash Over Fate Of ICE Prison After 3 Detainee Deaths
• Related: Trump Supporters, Proud Boys Crash Anti-ICE Protest In New Jersey
• Related: NJ Sues Owner Of ICE Prison, Sherrill Demands Inspections
• Related: Here’s How ICE Detainees Escaped Prison In New Jersey, Feds Say

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