Montclair Deputy Mayor Visits Delaney Hall Prison Amid Anti-ICE Protests

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Add Montclair’s deputy mayor to the list of elected officials who have visited Delaney Hall in Newark this week – and come back with demands for action.

Councilor-at-large Susan Shin Andersen recounted her visit to the prison in a social media post on Monday.

Federal law enforcement officers have been clashing with protesters outside Delaney Hall over the past few days. The prison houses federal immigration detainees from across New Jersey.

>> RELATED: Feds Clash With NJ Protesters Outside ICE Prison, Governor Denied Visit As Hunger Strike Continues

“I went to Delaney Hall to join the groups and individuals who have been keeping watch outside and supporting the families of the people unjustly held inside, some for months and years,” Shin Andersen said.

“I wanted to go to observe, support the loved ones of those caged inside enduring inhumane conditions and denied due process, a right due to everyone in the U.S. under the Constitution, and just listen to the stories of the people detained told through their loved ones who were there,” the councilwoman said.

Shin Andersen continued:

“They are parents, partners, friends and family members. They are neighbors and members of our communities. They are people who just want to make a better life for themselves and their children. They are recent arrivals as well as those legally here for many years who have been waiting for their immigration cases to go through the system. They were taken by federal civil immigration agents while at their jobs, on the way to work, to their children’s schools, at their immigration court appointments. Very few have any criminal record and some were unjustly accused of a crime. They are not ‘invaders,’ threats, or here just to take jobs and opportunities away from others.”

“Last night, there was an attempt to relocate a man from Delaney Hall to another place because he organized a hunger strike due to the inhumane conditions there,” Shin Andersen wrote, alleging that “when others go to stand up for and with them, the detained and their loved ones are retaliated against.”

“This is happening here in our area, in our country,” Shin Andersen said. “And yes – Montclair families have been affected too.”

• Related: High School, College Students Hold Anti-ICE Walkouts In Montclair
• Related: Anti-ICE Protest Draws Crowd In Montclair: 'Immigrants Make America Great'

DELANEY HALL CONTROVERSY

The 1,000-bed prison at Delaney Hall is the first federal detention center to open under the second term of President Donald Trump. The prison has seen a wave of controversy since then, including allegations of poor treatment of detainees and visitors, several arrests involving demonstrators, federal charges against the city’s mayor and a U.S. congresswoman, a high-profile prison escape, and a detainee who died in federal custody.

Its owner, the GEO Group, is one of the largest private prison companies in the nation.

Detainees launched a hunger strike at Delaney Hall last Friday, alleging that they are facing “inhumane” conditions including bad food, medical neglect and problems with visitation – claims that federal authorities and the GEO Group have denied.

“No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States,” a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Patch when asked to comment on the allegations from advocates and detainees’ families.

The escalating situation has attracted attention from elected officials including Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who was refused entry to the prison on Monday. Another New Jersey politician – U.S. Sen. Andy Kim – was treated for pepper spray exposure after a skirmish between federal agents and demonstrators over the Memorial Day weekend.

• Related: ‘Out Of Control’ ICE Agents Pepper Sprayed U.S. Senator, Governor Says

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