Detainee's death at Delaney Hall prompts congressional visit to ICE facility
Rep. McIver says the majority of the 900 being held are not criminals. Many were arrested not while committing a crime – rather while at appointed asylum hearings.
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Three congressmembers were in Newark on Tuesday to inspect Delaney Hall, one week after the death of a detainee at the immigration detention facility.
After speaking with a dozen or so detainees, Reps. Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver and Yvette Clark, of New York, stated the facility is “awful” and should be shut down.
Rep. McIver says the majority of the 900 being held are not criminals. Many were arrested not while committing a crime – rather while at appointed asylum hearings.
“They are here on work visas. Some work visas not even expired and they’re in there. On student visas – literally inside of a jail with approval from this country to be here,” said McIver.
McIver says she spoke with others who she believes are simply being treated cruelly.
“Folks who have said that they would be voluntarily deported but waiting for months to be deported after signing paperwork to do so,” said McIver.
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The inspection comes a week after 41-year-old Jean Brutus, a Haitian immigrant, suffered a medical emergency only 24 hours after arrival and died. While an exact cause of death has not been determined, Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Brutus died of natural causes.
“EMS performed life-saving measures and transported Brutus to University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, and later the hospital pronounced him deceased on Dec. 12. All people in ICE custody receive medical, dental and mental health intake screenings within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility,” ICE officials wrote in a statement.
However, Rep. Menendez said that detainees are “not receiving adequate medical attention.”
“The dozens of people we met with are sick. People are coughing. The food situation continues to be horrible,” said Menendez.
ICE says that Brutus was living in the U.S. illegally and had a criminal record for arrests on criminal mischief and trespassing.
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Still, advocates for immigrants say this facility, operated by the GEO Group on a $1 billion contract, is in place to make money.
“There’s a twisted marriage between an administration hell-bent on enacting a racist mass deportation agenda and one of the largest private prison corporations in the world,” said Amy Torres, the director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice.
This is the first death of a detainee at Delaney Hall, the fourth this past week at ICE facilities across the country.
