The U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Haba, announced her arrest on Friday after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka refused to leave an ICE facility.
“Mayor Baraka trespassed and disregarded multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations, choosing to defy the law in order to remove himself from the New Jersey ICE detention center,” Haba stated on social media. “No one is above the law.”
Baraka, accompanied by three members of the New Jersey Legislature—Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez Jr., and Ramonica McQuiber—attempted to gain access to the Delaney Hall ICE Detention Center.
Watson Coleman expressed on social media that the facility “opened without the city’s approval and violated local laws. I’ve heard troubling accounts of conditions in other ICE facilities. We’re keeping a close eye on this.”
The Department of Homeland Security reported that this group of protesters, along with Menendez Jr. and Watson Coleman, “forced their way through the gates and entered the detention facilities.”
The agency stated that two congressional members and several protesters had breached the first security checkpoint at the guard shack.
“Rushing into detention facilities by members of Congress goes beyond mere political stunts, jeopardizing both law enforcement and the safety of detainees. Congressional members must not violate the law and cannot enter detention facilities unlawfully,” the DHS emphasized in a statement. “Had these members requested official tours, it would have been more appropriate. This situation is ongoing.”
Delaney Hall has been a contentious site in New Jersey. The Trump administration had argued for its importance in detaining violent undocumented immigrants, while local officials, including Baraka, who is also a gubernatorial candidate, claimed that proper permissions were acquired for housing immigrants at the facility.
DHS dismissed claims from Newark politicians that Delaney lacked the necessary approvals, asserting, “We have valid permissions, along with plumbing and electrical inspections that meet fire codes.”
