To: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security, GEO Group
Shut down Delaney Hall NOW!
We urge you to take immediate action to shut down Delaney Hall and protect the people inside that are suffering right now.
No one should be subjected to the unsafe and inhumane conditions that are being reported right now from Delaney Hall. The reports of medical neglect, retaliation, and denial of oversight demand urgent intervention.
We call on DHS and ICE, the Governor of New Jersey, and the Mayor of Newark to:
- Close Delaney Hall and ensure the immediate release of vulnerable individuals, including those with medical conditions, children, and the elderly
- Guarantee full access for independent oversight, including visits from local elected officials, members of Congress and human rights organizations
- Reject the expansion of privately operated detention facilities in our communities
We cannot allow Delaney Hall to stay open, and this disastrous, inhumane detention model from the federal government cannot continue. We remain in solidarity with the people inside Delaney Hall who are demanding dignity and safety, and it’s your responsibility to act. Shut down Delaney Hall now!
Why is this important?
Delaney Hall represents a dangerous expansion of the immigrant detention system, one driven by profit, and unconcerned with public safety. In 2025, ICE handed a $1 billion contract to GEO Group to run Delaney Hall which essentially quadrupled detention capacity in New Jersey overnight.
Now, hundreds of people inside are risking their health to expose what’s happening behind the doors of Delaney Hall. More than 200 detainees remain on hunger and labor strike, protesting unsafe conditions: lack of medical care, spoiled food, and extreme heat without air conditioning. These are not isolated complaints, they are systemic failures in facilities that were never meant to be kind to the people within them.
Warehouses like Delaney Hall exist because of a system that outsources detention to private prison corporations with little transparency or accountability. GEO Group, the corporation in charge of Delaney Hall and other detention facilities across the country, profits when more people are detained for longer periods of time. This system creates incentives and rewards for holding people, often without cause, while cutting corners on their healthcare and safety.
If people inside speak out about their conditions inside, the response is retaliation. News reports include pepper spray and physical force against detainees, forced transfers, and blocked access for families. Even local elected officials and members of Congress are being denied oversight. Sign the petition if you agree: Delaney Hall must be shut down NOW!