A New Jersey detention facility has become the focal point of a political confrontation. Senator Andy Kim is its highest-profile casualty so far.
On May 25, Kim was pepper-sprayed while attempting to de-escalate a confrontation between protesters and ICE agents outside Delaney Hall in Newark. The immigrant detention center, operated by private prison company GEO Group, has drawn national attention after detainees launched a hunger and labor strike over conditions they describe as "inhumane."
The detainees allege disease, overflowing toilets, poor ventilation, and worm-riddled food. The complaints have prompted waves of protests outside the facility, with high-profile support from local politicians.
Congresswoman LaMonica McIver is facing federal charges after an alleged scuffle with a DHS officer at the same facility last year. "I've been preaching the same thing for over a year now," she tells Rolling Stone. "This facility should not be open."
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested in the same incident that led to McIver's charges. "We started this before they even put people in that detention facility," he says. "It's a protracted fight. Ultimately we want the building to be shut down."
The chaos escalated in May when McIver and two other New Jersey members of Congress attempted routine oversight of the facility shortly after it opened. GEO Group employees allegedly delayed the visit until DHS agents arrived and threatened to arrest Baraka. According to the agency, McIver was guilty of "assaulting, impeding, and interfering" with a federal officer.
For these lawmakers, the fight against Delaney Hall is a sustained political battle that has already resulted in legal jeopardy and, in Kim's case, tear gas.
