ICE Reopens Newark Detention Center Amid Legal Battle

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun housing immigrant detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, under a 15-year contract with the private GEO Group, despite strong opposition from city officials and immigrant advocates. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has called the center's reopening illegal, citing missing inspections, permits, and a new certificate of occupancy, with allegations that fire inspectors were denied access. The city has filed lawsuits seeking to block the facility, arguing it violates New Jersey law and poses safety risks, while the GEO Group asserts the center is lawful and will provide jobs. The Biden administration has sought to dismiss Newark's legal challenge, characterizing it as interference with federal immigration enforcement, and the dispute is ongoing in federal court. The facility's opening is the first new federal immigrant detention center in New Jersey in years and comes amid expanded federal immigration crackdowns under President Trump's second term. Advocates warn that the expansion will increase detentions, deportations, and family separations, while federal officials and the facility's operators defend its necessity for law enforcement.