The mayor of Newark, N.J. was arrested Friday at an ICE facility during a visit with members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation.
Mayor Ras Baraka was taken into custody at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, which quietly started housing detained migrants this month.
“The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon,” U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba wrote on social media. “He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”
Some New Jersey lawmakers, including Baraka, and immigration advocates have argued the 1,000-bed facility located 15 minutes away from Newark Liberty International Airport is dangerous and illegal. City officials alleged the private prison company that signed a contract with ICE did not obtain proper permits and blocked fire, electrical and plumbing inspections.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Delaney Hall currently detains “murderers, rapists, suspected terrorists, and gang members.”
“Today, as a bus of detainees was entering the security gate of Delaney Hall Detention Center, a group of protestors, including two members of US Congress, stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility. The members, Robert Menendez Jr. and Bonnie Watson Coleman and multiple protestors are holed up in a guard shack, the first security check point,” DHS said about Friday’s incident.
“These members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and the detainees at risk. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation.”
DHS denied allegations the facility did not obtain proper permits and wasn’t inspected.
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