‘A moral stain’: Sen. Cory Booker criticizes N.J. ICE detainment facility, pledges for its removal following oversight visit

An ICE detention facility in Newark, N.J., has made national headlines for concerns over its conditions and charged protests happening outside the center that led to Sen. Andy Kim getting tear-gassed on Memorial Day.

Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) says he’s struck by the “unbearable and unacceptable” human cost of immigration enforcement and is calling for an end to it, following an oversight visit on Wednesday.

Booker, who spoke with members of the media following his visit, called the scene at Delaney Hall “chilling,” raising concerns over proper medical care and nutrition for detainees.

“This is not who we are as a nation,” Booker said. “This is a moral stain on who we hope to be and profess to be.”

Booker’s visit follows escalating tensions at the privately owned ICE detention facility. Delaney Hall has been the center of allegations of inhumane conditions for months. Its owners and the Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly denied those claims.

Over the holiday weekend, hundreds of detainees went on a labor and hunger strike, according to their lawyers, in peaceful protest of the center’s conditions. About 300 detainees participated, according to NJ.com.

Booker said the inmates he spoke with described the protest as a refusal of meals in part because of the “quality of the meals,” but also as a constitutional way to protest their overall housing conditions. But, he added, the hunger strike participants fear retaliation and have been told they could potentially face criminal charges for what they’re doing.

“That retribution has put a chill on what they believe are their rights to protest,” Booker said, adding that some inmates told the senator that their visitations were cut off after refusing meals.

Protesters clashed with federal officers outside Delaney Hall over the holiday weekend. On Monday, the scene was described by media outlets as “charged” and “chaotic.” Video footage from the scene shows armed, masked ICE agents fighting with protesters and, in some cases, using gas canisters and batons.

Kim said officers deployed pepper spray at him and others outside the facility. Kim, who was eventually allowed inside Delaney Hall, said he spoke with more than 100 detainees, some of whom said they were arrested at scheduled immigration interviews. He described seeing a milk carton with its contents “congealed solid.”

Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she was denied access inside the detention center, raising “serious questions about what they are trying to hide from public view.” A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson called the governor’s visit a “political stunt” and told The Hill that visitation was suspended because of the protests outside the facility.

Claims of poor conditions at Delaney Hall range from inmates sleeping on the floor, cold showers and cells, no food or spoiled food (with claims of worms), and a lack of medical care, according to attorneys with Nova Law Group, which represents people in the facility.

The Department of Homeland Security denied those claims in a news release posted Monday.

Delaney Hall is owned by GEO Group, a for-profit prison corporation. Booker’s issues with the company run deep.

In 2023, Booker asked the Biden administration not to use Delaney Hall, calling the contract “an insult to immigrant communities” and human rights advocates. The GEO Group has faced allegations about forced labor and inhumane conditions over the years.

In addition to allegations over Delaney Hall’s faulty conditions, protesters say a major area of concern is the transfer of Martin Alonso Soto Hernandez, a detainee whose wife is pregnant and has sought release on bond. His wife organized a rally last week announcing the hunger strike, NJ.com reported. As of Wednesday, Soto Hernandez was transferred to the Elizabeth Detention Center, put in isolation, and is not allowed to have calls, his attorneys told CNN.

“I have a lot of concerns about his transport,” Booker told The Inquirer at Wednesday’s news conference. “My staff is doing a lot to assess that situation and ensure [he] is not being retaliated against.”

Booker closed his remarks on Wednesday with a promise that his team was working to “get this private prison out of our state” and “end this nightmare that’s going on in our communities.”

He said those efforts would be achieved through a mix of public and legal pressure, blocking federal funding for the current immigration system, and through Democratic wins in November to restore congressional oversight in the House and the Senate, bringing checks and balances to President Donald Trump’s policies.

“There is no adequate oversight,” Booker said. “We hope that come November, we have the power to ... shine more of a light on how this president and his immigration policies are violating our collective values as a nation.”