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Hunger strike continues at NJ ICE detention center as congressmembers visit
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published May 24, 2026
Modified May 24, 2026
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Michael Sol Warren/Gothamist
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published May 24, 2026
Modified May 24, 2026
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Immigrant detainees on a hunger and labor strike at an ICE facility in Newark remain resolute, according to a pair of New Jersey congressmembers who visited them on Saturday evening.
Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Rob Menendez held an oversight visit to Delaney Hall, where detainees launched a strike Friday morning to demand better conditions and their release.
“ I do worry that ICE is going to try to put pressure on them because it's powerful. When people go on hunger strikes, it's powerful,” Menendez said.
The strike was announced during a rally outside Delaney Hall Friday, where family members were calling for the release of detainees and the closure of the facility. Gabriela Soto, a 28-year-old mother of two from Kearny whose husband Martin Soto has been detained at Delaney Hall since February, organized the rally.
Soto said Saturday that her visitation rights had been threatened by facility staff, who demanded that she and other advocates end the demonstrations outside Delaney Hall’s gate. Soto also said her husband was being pressured by staff inside, including by being subjected to extended interrogations.
“ They think that he's a part of what I'm doing outside. They think that he's a part of the protest,” Soto said. “It's just me. He's not doing anything inside.”
Menendez said he was moved by detainees’ continued efforts to organize and advocate for their rights.
“ As much as that place wants to steal people's humanity and to crush people, you see people coming together and looking after each other,” Menendez said.
In an emailed statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, wrote "there is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time."
The GEO Group, which is the Florida-based private company operating Delaney Hall, did not respond to requests for comment. ICE policy does not recognize an action as a hunger strike until it extends at least 72 hours, at which point guards are supposed to refer to medical staff for response.
Both ICE and GEO Group in previous statements have denied allegations of retaliation against detainees and their families, and of poor conditions in Delaney Hall.
Immigrants detained inside Delaney Hall have regularly complained of low-quality food and a lack of proper medical care in the facility since it reopened last year. An open letter signed by nearly 300 detainees earlier this month reiterated complaints that they are being denied due process rights by the immigration justice system.
Kim said he heard from detainees who have waited almost a year for court hearings, as well as others who had not been released despite winning habeas corpus petitions, or were still being kept at Delaney Hall despite being ordered deported months ago. And he noted that one immigration judge in Newark is scheduled to hear 74 cases when the court reopens on Tuesday.
“ How can any judge have 74 cases before them to be able to actually listen to people, to be able to actually adjudicate on this?” Kim said. “This is clearly a farce, clearly something that is not actually representative of the rights that people have in this country based off of our Constitution.”
The strikers have also demanded that other high-level officials, including Sen. Cory Booker and Gov. Mikie Sherrill, visit Delaney Hall. In a statement on Sunday, Sherrill said she was "deeply disturbed by reports of the poor conditions at Delaney Hall."
"I have contacted ICE to gain access to the facility and my office remains in close coordination with our federal delegation and with advocates, and I commend their continued oversight and work to hold DHS accountable," she said in the statement.
Delaney Hall is a federal facility, and it's unclear what actions Sherrill could take to affect conditions inside. Kim said it's ultimately on federal leaders to reform or close the detention center.
“ As the federal representatives of this state, we're going to do our part, and we'll make sure that we're working together with the governor and everybody else who wants to stand up against the brokenness and the unaccountability and lawlessness what's happening when it comes to immigration in this country,” Kim said.
Booker has visited Delaney Hall in the past, most recently in January, when he introduced legislation to bar the federal government from using such private detention centers. It is unclear if Booker plans to return to Delaney Hall soon.
This story has been updated to include comments from the Department of Homeland Security and Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
Tagged
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new jersey
Michael Sol Warren
Michael Sol Warren covers New Jersey for WNYC and Gothamist, and previously reported on issues around the Garden State for NJ Spotlight News and NJ Advance Media. He can be reached at [email protected].
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