Newark Mayor Lifts Curfew Outside Delaney Hall as Detainees’ Strike, Protests Continue

Read our article Combat and Resist ICE Terror here, and letters written by striking detainees at Delaney Hall here.

Democrat mafia mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Ras Baraka, announced on June 2 that he is lifting the city’s curfew imposed in a half-mile radius around the Delaney Hall immigration detention center.

During a news conference, Mayor Baraka also said more emphasis would be placed on using “community members” to quell the rebellions through fifth-column tactics, and that the city would be expanding its lawsuit to shut down Delaney Hall.

Both the mayor and Democrat mafia Governor Mikie Sherrill raised the specter of outside agitators in statements condemning protests outside Delaney Hall.

Protesters outside Delaney Hall expressed skepticism of the mayor’s promises, with one telling The Worker, “Baraka suing this place to shut it down wouldn’t mean the detainees are free; they would scatter to the wind and the families wouldn’t know where they are, they would just get sent out of state.”

Around 300 detainees at Delaney Hall went on hunger and labor strike on May 22 to demand freedom in response to their kidnapping and what they have described as “being tortured physically and psychologically” at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and GEO Group, the prison monopoly that operates the facility through a federal contract with ICE.

Since then, there have been continuous protests in the vicinity of the facility in solidarity with detainees.

The city’s curfew had been announced on May 31 in an attempt to contain protests as they grew more rebellious and defended themselves against joint attacks from state troopers, local police, ICE agents, and GEO staff.

Repressive forces are using chemical weapons and so-called “less-lethal” rounds, with protesters telling The Worker that police forces have been aiming at protesters’ heads and specifically targeting medics and journalists.

GEO forces have begun to play an increasingly prominent role in attacking protesters after Mayor Baraka announced in his press conference that city police presence will be scaled back outside Delaney Hall and that GEO will be responsible for its own security.

On June 5, GEO staff drove their vehicles one after another through a group of protesters after leaving the detention center, hospitalizing at least one journalist. City police turned a blind eye.

A relative of a detainee on strike at Delaney Hall told The Worker about the worsening conditions outside: “Journalists are now facing increased surveillance, and restrictions continue to grow. Backpacks and masks are being prohibited, and the right to free speech protected by the First Amendment is being limited. In addition, designated protest and speech zones are being established, which many view as a violation of those constitutional rights. Police have been very aggressive toward protesters and members of the press. A journalist was even arrested while doing their job.”

She also described worsening conditions inside the detention center: “People there are hungry… They have no toilet paper, visits were canceled, and the tablets were removed, so calls must be scheduled in advance. Officers are also going around asking people to sign for deportation.” She said the detention staff are currently moving detainees to other units as part of a retaliatory campaign to identify the leaders of the hunger strike.

After being on strike for over two weeks and with the support of continuous protests outside, many victories have already been won. According to Cosecha New Jersey, an organization that defends undocumented immigrants, victories include: the release of teenagers and pregnant women; more attention from lawyers on detainees’ cases; less kidnappings by ICE in the area; the spread of hunger strikes in immigration detention centers across the country; more calls nationally for the closure of Delaney Hall; exposing the collaboration between federal, state, and local police forces despite Newark being a “sanctuary city”; and the government being pushed to conduct an investigation of the concentration camp.

Image: Police forces outside Delaney Hall detention center in June. Credit: The Worker.

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