New Jersey investigating Delaney Hall in Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – New Jersey has launched a civil rights investigation into Delaney Hall, the ICE facility in Newark, officials announced Friday.

Delaney Hall civil rights investigation

What we know:

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced the investigation, saying that the state “has a legal and a moral duty” to look into allegations of inhumane conditions at Delaney Hall.

Hunger strike, protests at Delaney Hall

The backstory:

Protests erupted outside the detention center in May, after reports that detainees were on hunger strike to speak out against living conditions.

Detainees reported things like spoiled food and no access to hygiene products like toilet paper, toothpaste and menstruation products, according to Davenport’s office. Gov. Mikie Sherrill called for the facility to be “closed down,” after she said the state health department was denied access.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Delaney Hall should be closed down’: Gov. Sherrill says NJ Dept. of Health ‘denied full access’

The Department of Homeland Security has denied claims of hunger strikes and poor conditions at Delaney Hall.

The protests sparked clashes outside the facility between demonstrators and officers, leading to several arrests and a nightly curfew.

Earlier this week, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that a detainee at Delaney Hall, announced that Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a detainee at the facility, had died in custody.

‘Disturbing’ allegations at ICE detention center

What they’re saying:

Sherrill called the allegations of the conditions at Delaney Hall “disturbing,” and said that the investigation announced Friday was necessary because “the facility is stonewalling efforts for real oversight.”

Sherrill said that ICE and The GEO Group, which operates Delaney Hall, “have continued to block our efforts for a full health inspection and there are now reports that visitations have been stopped.” 

“We will not tolerate a facility that abdicates any transparency and accountability,” Sherrill said. “I have long opposed private detention facilities, and my position is clear that Delaney Hall should be closed.”