Gov. Sherrill tours Delaney Hall ‘closely controlled and limited’ by federal officials

Gov. Mikie Sherrill toured Newark migrant jail Delaney Hall on Monday, two weeks after she was barred from entering the detention center where detainees are on their third week of a hunger strike.

Sherrill, a Democrat who took office in January, said the tour she received from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was “closely controlled and limited,” and called the restrictions during her visit unacceptable.

Sherrill’s visit Monday morning included parts of the medical and dining facilities, and some of the housing units where detainees sleep, but she was not able to talk to any of the jailed migrants, she said, which raises “serious questions about the real conditions of the facility and the treatment of those held there.”

“I will continue to push to speak with the detainees directly. They deserve to be heard and the public deserves answers,” she said.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond when asked about Sherrill’s comments.

The governor’s visit came after another volatile weekend outside the Newark jail, which has been open for just over a year but has recently drawn national attention as protesters outside the facility have demonstrated against President Donald Trump’s mass detention and deportation policies. Nightly protests have occasionally turned violent as protesters clash with prison guards and police officers.

Police arrested several protesters over the weekend, days after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city’s police would scale back its operations outside the jail. When protests first broke out two weeks ago, federal agents handled crowd control, but Sherrill then asked state troopers to take over. After protesters accused troopers of using excessive force, Newark’s police force stepped in.

In a statement Monday, Baraka said that Newark police should not have been called to the facility at all this weekend, and he said that some officers went too far. At least one video from the weekend protests shows Newark officers aggressively detaining some protesters.

“It appeared that some of our officers were over aggressive and should be held accountable,” he said.

Newark police were called Sunday night due to protesters blocking the facility’s entrance, he said, but he argued that responsibility for securing access to Delaney Hall lies with the jail’s owner and operator, Geo Group, rather than the city police. Protesters have stood in front of cars driven by jail employees leaving the facility.

“Asking Newark police officers to assume that role places an unnecessary burden on our department and further strains our already limited resources and budget,” he said.

Baraka, a Democrat, tried to prevent the jail from opening last year, and he was arrested in May 2025 when prosecutors say he trespassed on the property during his attempt to tour the facility (prosecutors quickly dropped the charge).

It’s unclear how many people were jailed over the weekend related to the Delaney Hall protests. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said four people were arrested June 5 for assaulting law enforcement officers, obstruction, and theft, and another person accused of breaking a car windshield was arrested by New Jersey authorities.

“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony. Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the department said in a statement.

The New Jersey State Police said it had no presence outside of Delaney Hall and was not involved in any arrests.

A spokesman for Geo Group did not respond to a request for comment.

Protests have been a regular sight outside Delaney Hall since detainees first said on May 22 that they were launching a hunger strike to protest conditions inside (federal officials dispute that there is a hunger strike).

Sherrill initially tried to tour the detention center three days later, on Memorial Day, but she was denied entry. Members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have made frequent trips inside the jail since then — jail officials are required to let members of Congress inside to conduct oversight visits — including Sen. Andy Kim and Reps. LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez.

On May 28, state Department of Health officials were allowed inside the facility for a limited inspection but barred from inspecting the medical unit, sleeping areas, and toilets. The state sued Geo Group last week to force a full health inspection, arguing state law gives the health commissioner the right to inspect facilities when public health laws may be violated.

In an inspection report released Monday, the Department of Health detailed some of the violations found during the inspection: cases of soda stored next to chemicals, staff touching garbage containers during food service without washing their hands, and food subjected to “improper cooling practices, creating a potential food safety risk.”

Detainees have said they have been served moldy milk and food with worms. The Department of Health ordered the food service manager to retrain all employees on food safety practices, including temperature monitoring and proper cooking temperatures, according to the report released Monday.

Sherrill said she’d continue pressing for full access to the facility alongside the state’s congressional delegation.

“I will continue advocating for humane treatment at Delaney Hall for detainees and their families, and ultimately to close the facility for good,” Sherrill said.