Newark mayor tries to ‘shut down' ICE detention center in his city, claiming it doesn't have permit to operate
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka showed up to at an ICE detention center that reopened in his city on Tuesday morning, claiming the facility does not have the valid permits to operate.
The Democrat and his supporters were outside Delaney Hall, where he accused the facility of turning away local fire inspectors following a judge's order to allow city officials to examine the site.
'We want them to follow our rules, follow our laws,' said Baraka, who vowed to shut down the facility, according to The New York Times.
6 Newark Mayor Ras Baraka accused the ICE detention center at Delaney Hall of operating without valid permits.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post
6 The mayor and his supporters held a demonstration outside the facility on Tuesday.
Robert Mecea
The mayor — who is a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for this year's New Jersey governor's race, said he would return to Delaney Hall to protest its use every day after Newark fire inspectors issued three code violations against the facility.
Baraka is demanding full fire, safety and health inspections at the site following a previous inspection that found 'violations that put first responders at risk, violations that put detainees and workers that are there at risk.'
In February, ICE awarded the GEO Group with a 15-year, $1 billion contract to hold migrants facing deportation at Delaney Hall, which can house around 1,000 people.
The city is currently suing the facility for more inspections while accusing ICE of failing to indicate exactly how many detainees are being held in the building.
6 Baraka vowed to return to the detention center every day to protest its use.
Robert Mecea
6 Protesters held signs calling for ICE to be abolished and for the Trump administration's deportation flights to be halted.
Robert Mecea
The center does not yet have a valid certificate of occupancy, according to Newark officials.
GEO Group spokesperson Christopher Ferreira, however, said the company does have a valid certificate and that the facility is complying with 'all the contracted health and safety requirements.'
Ferreira slammed Baraka's office of launching a 'politicized campaign' against the company, accusing the mayor of trying to 'interfere with the federal government's efforts to arrest, detain, and deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens in accordance with established federal law,' Gothamist reported.
6 Demonstrators also held signs calling for the release of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly sent to an El Salvadorian prison by the Trump administration.
ZUMAPRESS.com
6 Newark fire officials issued three violations against the detention center on Tuesday.
Robert Mecea
The GEO Group and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment over Tuesday's protest.
Baraka has been leading the fight against the reopening of Delaney Hall, which was shutdown in 2017 before President Trump's immigration overhaul.
Recent polls show that Baraka is a favorite in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, coming in third place behind Rep. Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, according to The New Jersey Globe.
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