Nearly 1,000 people are detained at Delaney Hall — the largest ICE detention center in the North East U.S.. 300+ are on hunger and labor strike after being abducted, separated from their families, and subjected to inhumane conditions. They have demands. Governor Sherrill was denied entry and federal officials are not responding, instead, ICE is escalating. Sign this petition to demand DHS and ICE allow Governor Sherrill inside Delaney Hall and that they meet detainees' demands now (read more below). 

Delaney Hall Is in Crisis. Here's What You Need to Know and What You Can Do.

Nearly 1,000 people are being held at Delaney Hall, Newark's ICE detention facility — many arrested simply for showing up to scheduled immigration appointments. Since May 22, 300 family members and neighbors inside wrote and signed a letter directed to New Jersey elected officials after beginning a hunger and labor strike.

As a result, they are being retaliated against. Visitation has been canceled. And they are asking for witnesses. Here's the full picture and how you can show up.

The Hunger and Labor Strike

On May 22, 2026, hundreds of men and women detained at Delaney Hall launched a coordinated hunger and labor strike — refusing meals and refusing to participate in GEO Group's work program, where detainees perform facility maintenance, food service, and sanitation for $1–$2 per day, often going days, weeks, or months without being paid at all.

One detainee spoke directly to why:

"We are the ones who shoveled the snow during the winter. We are the ones serving the food. We are the ones who clean the units, who clean the bathrooms. We are not recognized or valued for our labor."

ICE and DHS have attempted to deny the strike is happening — bringing multiple units down for meals simultaneously to create the appearance of normalcy. Homeland Security has publicly claimed there is no hunger strike and no subprime conditions. The people inside say otherwise.

The Detainees' Demands

Participants in the strike are calling for:

1. An immediate in-person meeting with Governor Mikie Sherrill at Delaney Hall to directly observe conditions and hear testimony from detained individuals
2. The immediate release of vulnerable detainees, including elderly individuals, pregnant women, young people, and those with serious medical conditions
3. Meaningful review of immigration cases and habeas filings
4. An end to coercive pressure to sign deportation or voluntary departure documents

The ultimate goal is to FREE ALL FAMILY MEMBERS & NEIGHBORS abducted by ICE who are at Delaney Hall and to end GEO Groups contract so they are required to cease operations. 

In Their Own Words

The following is testimony from a participant of the strike, shared directly with outside advocates:

"When we came into this country, we were allowed parole and a work permit to be legal in this country. We have people who are married, who have their marriage petitions approved, and are awaiting their residence card, yet are still detained and their cases are yet to be resolved — this is negligence. Who will take care of their family and kids? Who will take them to school? Who will pay their rent and feed them? Kids will be left alone, without support and love from their parents.

They force people who don't know how to read to sign their own voluntary departure. For others, they lie and offer money to sign documents but don't end up giving them any, nor disclose it's voluntary departure. They make you believe you only have two options: deportation or voluntary departure.

Majority of us were arrested during our check-in appointments with immigration — so now even if we abide the law, pay taxes, and do our due diligence, we are still detained for going to immigration appointments voluntarily. We are not criminals. We are fathers who don't want to be separated from our families. We will hold our hunger strike until our voices are heard."

The Retaliation

Since the strike began, ICE and GEO Group have escalated punishment rather than engagement:

• Direct attacks on detainees, specifically targeting those who are leading the labor and hunger strike on Unit 2 — it's been confirmed that ICE and GEO Group officials pepper sprayed and attacked those in these units around mid-day on Thursday, May 28th
• Threats of transfer against individuals who communicated with outside advocates or elected officials
• Unit-level intimidation to discourage participation
• Cancellation of visitation for the third consecutive day — cutting off detainees from their families
• Use of pepper spray, pepper bullets, tasers, and batons against protesters outside the facility

The retaliation has not stayed outside the walls. As Sally Pillay, lead organizer with Eyes on ICE NJ, stated directly: "Detainees have reported threats, intimidation, punishment, and fear following the incidents involving pepper spray and escalating unrest. Yesterday an entire unit was pepper sprayed and locked in." Detained individuals and their families have made clear that escalating tensions outside are resulting in severe punishment inside. People inside are literally putting their bodies, health, and lives on the line. They cannot leave. They should not be punished for what happens beyond the walls they are trapped behind.

How You Can Help Families Directly

Want to support the people held at Delaney Hall and their families? Every dollar goes directly to those most impacted. You can donate to any one of these efforts:

• Direct to Families — linktr.ee/SupportOurFamilies
• Grocery Store Gift Card Fund — givebutter.com/GroceryCards
• Commissary Fund — givebutter.com/commissaryfund
• Pantry Bags — food4nj.org

From The Organizers: A Note on How We Show Up

The following is a statement from Sally Pillay and Eyes on ICE New Jersey: "The collective resistance of those detained through hunger strikes, labor strikes, testimony, and speaking out despite fear of retaliation has required immense courage. People inside are literally putting their bodies, health, and lives on the line to expose what they describe as inhumane conditions, retaliation, lack of medical care, coercion, and abuse. We are deeply concerned that their actions and demands are being overshadowed by escalating confrontations and violence outside the facility. We have remained in continuous communication with detained individuals and their families, and many have directly communicated fears that the protests and tensions outside are resulting in severe retaliation against people inside.

We want to be unequivocal: Eyes on ICE NJ is on the ground 24-7, and will not engage in violence, provocation, or escalation. We continue to call for peaceful action, peaceful protest, accountability, and community protection. Our focus remains on uplifting the demands of those detained and protecting their safety. We urge all groups, organizations, and individuals mobilizing around Delaney Hall to recognize that actions outside the facility have direct consequences for people trapped inside who cannot leave and who are bearing the retaliation. The detained should not be punished because of escalating tensions outside the walls of the facility.

This moment requires discipline, humanity, and responsibility. The people inside Delaney Hall have asked to be heard. They have asked for dignity, safety, medical care, due process, and freedom from retaliation. Their demands must remain at the center."

The Community Vigil Operation

From the moment Delaney Hall reopened, community members refused to look away. For months, Pax Christi New Jersey, CosechaNJ, Mamichelo Foundation, Food 4 NJ, and other organizations have provided physical, emotional, and spiritual support to family members waiting outside the center for an opportunity to visit with loved ones held inside. Eyes on ICE activists have been outside daily, documenting medical emergencies, bearing witness to the treatment of those inside, and supporting families navigating an opaque and punishing system.

Eyes on ICE New Jersey stands in unwavering solidarity with those detained inside Delaney Hall — continuing to document conditions, support impacted families, and bear witness to the treatment of those inside.

How Things Escalated

Delaney Hall has been a flashpoint since the day it reopened. In May 2025, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside the facility during a protest — charges that were later dropped. In June 2025, four detainees escaped after dozens of others mounted an uprising in apparent revolt against detention conditions. Federal agents responded with riot gear and tear gas. In December 2025, ICE announced that Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian detainee, had died while in custody — one of 32 people who died in ICE custody in 2025, the deadliest year in more than two decades for immigrants in detention. Each incident drew more calls for oversight. All went unanswered. The hunger strike is what's left.

About Delaney Hall

Delaney Hall originally held immigrant detainees from 2011 to 2017, was subsequently closed, and remained shuttered under the Biden Administration. When the Trump Administration returned to power, it moved quickly to reopen it. ICE struck a 15-year, $1.2 billion deal with GEO Group — a for-profit private prison corporation — to reopen Delaney Hall as a federal immigration processing and detention center, nearly doubling ICE's capacity to detain people from the Northeast. The reopening came over the objections of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and community organizations, who argued the facility was operating without proper city permits and refusing city inspections.

Sen. Cory Booker called the contract "an insult to immigrant communities and advocates in New Jersey and around the country who have fought tirelessly to document the human rights abuses at private detention centers."

DISCLAIMER FOR PRESS: This petition is an extension of the family members at Delaney Hall and the organizers with Eyes on ICE NJ, first and foremost. I, Jorge Alvarez, am a volunteer that created this using the recent language from Eyes on ICE NJ's most recent press release. For more information, contact the lead Eyes on ICE organizers and press liasons here:

• Kathy O'Leary — 973-610-1684 
• Catalina Adorno — 201-598-4448
• Jenny Garcia — 201-874-1764