Lawmakers Return to Delaney Hall, Warn About Conditions for Detained Immigrants
Immigrants detained at Delaney Hall Alleging failures in medical care Demanding answers from ICE Three Democratic congress members returned to Delaney…
- Immigrants detained at Delaney Hall
- Alleged failures in medical care
- Lawmakers demand answers from ICE
Three Democratic members of Congress returned to Delaney Hall in New Jersey on Wednesday and denounced conditions that they said continue to endanger immigrants in ICE custody.
Adriano Espaillat, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, visited the facility with Analilia Mejia and Rob Menendez following months of complaints about food, medical care, and air conditioning.
The lawmakers said they spoke directly with detainees who reported delays or denials when seeking medical care while sick or in pain.
They also raised concerns about food and air conditioning: “What we heard and observed today makes it clear that those at Delaney Hall continue to be dangerously neglected,” they stated.
Members of Congress Denounce Failures Inside Delaney Hall
Delaney Hall is operated by GEO Group and resumed operations as an immigration detention center this year amid the federal government’s expansion of detention capacity.
According to EFE, the complex is the largest immigration detention center on the East Coast and has capacity for 1,196 people, making the conditions reported there a matter of growing political scrutiny.
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The members of Congress said detainees described allegedly spoiled food and an inadequate air-conditioning system that, according to their accounts, exposes them to hazardous conditions.
“This is a failure of care and oversight funded with federal dollars,” Espaillat, Mejia, and Menendez said after completing the inspection.
A Hunger Strike Had Already Raised the Alarm
The complaints did not begin this week: Espaillat and other lawmakers had already visited Delaney Hall in May, when the center faced protests both inside and outside the facility.
Detainees began a hunger strike in mid-May to demand better food, medical care, potable water, an end to alleged mistreatment, and other improvements to their conditions.
The protest ended on June 22, but activists said at the time that it ended not because conditions had improved, but because of disciplinary measures and intimidation by guards, according to EFE.
Authorities, however, had previously rejected the accusations: a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said during the protests that detainees received three meals a day, clean water, and comprehensive medical care.
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Lawmakers Will Demand Answers From ICE and DHS
The latest visit increases pressure on ICE, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and GEO Group to explain what steps they are taking in response to the complaints.
The lawmakers announced that they will continue reviewing the information collected and may pursue additional oversight measures, as well as seek answers from federal officials and the center’s operators.
“We will continue to demand clear answers about what is happening inside these facilities,” they stated, adding that they are also seeking information about the deaths of people detained at Delaney Hall.
The case therefore keeps not only conditions inside the New Jersey center under scrutiny, but also the federal government’s responsibility for the treatment of immigrants in its custody, according to EFE and Yahoo.