DHS Fires Back: New Jersey Prisons More Dangerous Than ICE Facilities
DHS officials defended a Newark immigration detention facility against closure demands from New Jersey Democrats, citing zero health violations compared to what they called deplorable conditions in state prisons.
The confrontation centers on Delaney Hall, a Newark detention facility run by GEO Group under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Breitbart News. For several weeks, Governor Mikie Sherrill and Democratic Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker have demanded the facility’s closure.
Sherrill issued a statement last month claiming she was deeply disturbed by reports of the poor conditions at Delaney Hall, characterizing living conditions there as unsafe, inhumane, and unconstitutional. The Democratic governor reiterated her longstanding opposition to privately operated detention facilities.
During a Senate committee hearing this week, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin directly challenged those characterizations. Mullin testified that since Delaney Hall opened its doors, not a single health violation has been recorded at the facility.
State health inspectors from New Jersey recently conducted a thorough examination of Delaney Hall and found zero violations, Mullin told Senator Chris Murphy. He contrasted this with New Jersey’s own prison system, where three state facilities have been classified as operating under deplorable conditions by health inspectors.
Mullin further noted that in New Jersey state prisons, healthcare delivery is delayed beyond 48 hours in an average of 32 percent of cases. By comparison, Delaney Hall recently passed inspection with zero health violations, he emphasized.
On Thursday, Department of Homeland Security officials circulated comparative data showing that inmates are twice as likely to die in New Jersey state prisons than detainees at Delaney Hall. The federal facility also employs double the number of medical staff per capita compared to state prisons.
Between 2018 and 2024, more than 330 inmates died while incarcerated in New Jersey’s state prison system. In 2024 alone, 42 deaths were recorded, indicating an average annual death toll exceeding 40 inmates in state custody, according to DHS figures.
Democratic lawmakers have also publicized claims that detainees at Delaney Hall are conducting a hunger strike. However, reporting from the Daily Wire this week revealed that individuals claiming to participate in the hunger strike have been purchasing and consuming sushi, Cheetos, Honey Buns, and smoked clams from the facility commissary.
The exchange highlights a growing dispute between federal immigration enforcement agencies and Democratic state officials over detention standards and facility oversight.
With information from Breitbart News
