Newark migrant jail detainees launch hunger, labor strike over conditions behind bars

NEWARK — Roughly 300 people detained at migrant jail Delaney Hall began a hunger and labor strike to bring attention to what they call the detrimental conditions and treatment they say they face behind bars.

For two hours near a tent outside the Doremus Avenue detention center Friday morning, people shared their stories of loved ones who are detained inside. Gabriela Soto translated calls from prisoners, including one from her husband, Martin, who has been held there since February.

“We deal with racism, with bad conditions, with guards that do not help us,” he said. “It gets worse all the time, and they don’t treat us like people.”

Another detained man, Jordi Albardo, who spoke via video chat on a tablet, said the 300 strikers are organized by units and are prepared to go without food “for however long it takes.”

“We don’t know the consequences exactly, maybe solitary confinement, we won’t know. But they are taking our freedom of speech, and our physical health is in danger,” he said.

Shortly after their calls with advocates, guards cut access to phones and tablets inside.

“This is punishment and retaliation because of the ongoing organizing going on inside. They told their family members they will continue to strike until their voices are heard,” said Sally Pillay, an activist with First Friends of New Jersey and New York, who was outside the jail. “I do envision it could get worse if there is more pushback from individuals inside.”

Detained migrants said they found live worms in their meals of beans and salad. They also complained of crowded rooms with no air conditioning, and they told stories of their cases being ignored by judges or bonds being denied, all in an attempt to force them to self-deport.

They said the goal of the strike is to release innocent detainees and bring attention to immigration judges who they say are ignoring their cases. The participants of the strike range from detainees who have been there for a few weeks to nearly a year. They maintain they have not committed violent crimes.

Soto said her husband was detained four months ago after he was stopped by immigration officers while walking home from a store in Kearny after buying diapers for their 4-year-old daughter. The girl was with Soto on Friday, crying for her father.

“It’s hard. She’s out of her routine because her father used to put her to bed, and I can’t do it all,” she said. “They don’t have a voice inside just because they are undocumented.”

Soto, who is a U.S. citizen, said she’s able to visit her husband four times a week, but frequent visits have become difficult as she is now the primary source of income for her family. She said he was applying for his citizenship and attempting to gain legal status, but “it’s not a quick process;” his next court date wasn’t until 2028.

Liliana Ramos’s husband, Danilo Chay, has worked in the Delaney Hall kitchen for four months since he was detained in North Plainfield, but he refused to report to work Friday as part of the strike, she said. She said he’s scared for his safety and how the repercussions could continue to escalate.

The couple has spent six years petitioning for his legal status since Ramos is a citizen and they are married (Chay came to the U.S. in 2006). She has spent over $13,000 on legal fees to try to expedite his papers and get him out of jail, but said her lawyer has not been helpful and ignores her calls.

“It’s been horrible, especially going through this alone,” said Ramos, who is nine months pregnant. “We bought a house eight months ago, and I don’t even know how I will pay the mortgage.”

The detainees and activists are also calling for Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Democratic Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim to visit the jail. Sherrill has not been there since she became governor in January.

Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility owned by private firm Geo Group, has been at the center of controversy since it opened roughly a year ago in the industrial section of Newark to intense backlash from the community.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside the jail in May 2025 and charged with trespassing (the charges were quickly dropped). Rep. LaMonica McIver was charged with assaulting officers during the melee that ensued during Baraka’s arrest, and she faces 17 years in prison (she has pleaded not guilty).

In June 2025, some detainees staged an uprising that resulted in four people escaping. Six months later, a detainee died in custody less than 24 hours after arriving at the detention center.

Migrants have long reported overcrowding, lack of medical attention, and inedible food. Last week, nearly 300 detainees signed a letter calling attention to what they say are the abysmal conditions inside.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment on the conditions of the detention center or the ongoing hunger strike.

On Friday, Ruales Zumba cried while explaining that her daughter, Andriana, should be at her high school prom Friday night. The 18-year-old was arrested last week while visiting a friend held at the Elizabeth Detention Center, the state’s other privately owned immigrant jail.

Ruales said they came to the United States as a family in 2015 when Andriana was just 9 years old. Andriana was the only family member who was arrested, despite working to obtain legal protection under programs for people who were brought to the U.S. as minors. Ruales said she had a court date coming up.

Ruales spoke to reporters in Spanish through tears while holding a book of photos from Andriana’s quinceañera.

“I’m scared for her life,” she said. “She shouldn’t be in there. She’s just a kid.”