Nearly 40 women detained at the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, have joined a hunger and labor strike, advocates announced on Thursday. The women, held in unit 1 of the privately run facility, released a new list of demands, including the release of women under 21, those with medical conditions, and mothers. They are also calling for improved conditions inside the facility and faster processing of their immigration cases.
Background of the strike
The Delaney Hall facility, operated by the private prison company Geo Group, has become a flashpoint in the Trump administration's mass deportation efforts. Last month, over 300 men launched a hunger and labor strike, sparking demonstrations and an aggressive police response. The women's strike announcement came a day after President Trump signed a $70 billion spending bill for immigration enforcement agencies, as immigrants in other detention centers also participate in strikes.
Advocates and families speak out
On Thursday morning, advocates, religious leaders, and family members gathered outside Delaney Hall to announce the women's participation. Speakers condemned conditions inside the facility. "Today, we stand with the women demanding release, safe living conditions, medical care, legal representation, family visitation, safe drinking water, and protection from abuse," said Archange Antoine, a minister with the Clergy Coalition for Liberation. "These are not radical demands – they are demands rooted in basic human rights."
Catalina Adorno, a volunteer with immigrant rights organization Cosecha, noted the difficulty of striking, especially given reports of retaliation by guards and ICE, including canceled family visitations, removal of communication tablets, and transfers of detainees to other facilities. Advocates estimate about 90 people were transferred this week.
Conditions at Delaney Hall
Opened last year after ICE signed a 15-year, billion-dollar contract with Geo Group, Delaney Hall has faced repeated accusations of substandard medical care, inedible food, and neglectful guards. Multiple congressional oversight visits have confirmed these claims. Amid the strike and protests, two 18-year-old women and all pregnant women were released, which advocates hailed as a victory.
Official response
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied that a hunger strike is occurring at Delaney Hall. "Another day, another hoax about ICE," a DHS spokesperson said. "There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time. No detainees are being beaten or abused." The statement claimed detainees receive three meals daily, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries, and comprehensive medical care. DHS encouraged undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Geo Group did not respond to a request for comment.
Broader context
When the first hunger strike began on May 22, women detained inside wrote a letter denouncing conditions, published this week. "Most of the women detained at this center were illegally detained by ICE," the letter reads. "We were taken at the entrances of our immigration court check-ins, at our jobs, taking our kids to school." It adds, "The treatment we received from this center is deplorable from screams, racism, and bad medical attention."
Other hunger strikes are occurring at facilities across the US, including in California, Washington state, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. DHS denies these strikes, but advocates report retaliation against striking detainees.
