Latest news with #MustafaCetin
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE Detention Center in Full Revolt as Four Detainees Escape
A revolt at a controversial New Jersey ICE facility morphed into a jailbreak late Thursday. Four detainees were unaccounted for at Delaney Hall detention center after about 50 captives pushed down a dormitory wall in protest of their living conditions, an immigration attorney representing one of the men told NJ Advance Media. Detainees were starving, reportedly having been made to wait hours for their next meal, when the literal pushback began. 'It's about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive and it turned violent,' the lawyer, Mustafa Cetin, told NJ Advance Media. 'Based on what he told me it was an outer wall, not very strong, and they were able to push it down.' But the crowd was not alone in their protest—instead, a gathering of people outside of the facility mobilized to block ICE activity, barricading the gate to prevent more officers from entering the center. Amy Torres, executive director of New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, told NPR affiliate WHYY that officers had used 'pepper spray and tackled and dragged protesters away from the facility.' 'She said some protesters had minor injuries, but no one was hit by the vehicles,' WHYY reported. Delaney Hall is run by a private prison company, GEO Group, that made $2.24 billion in revenue in 2024, according to its fourth-quarter earnings report. The company currently has a $60 million contract with the Trump administration to hold up to 1,000 people in the New Jersey detention center. Shortly after the ICE facility reopened in May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and New Jersey Representative LaMonica McIver were arrested and charged while touring the facility. The lawmakers were reportedly visiting the facility to serve a summons for code violations to a Geo Group representative. The charges against Baraka were dropped weeks later. 'I have serious concerns about the reports of abusive circumstances at the facility,' McIver wrote in a statement late Thursday regarding the break out. 'Even now, as we are hearing reports from news organizations and advocates on the ground about a lack of food and basic rights for those inside, the administration appears to be stonewalling efforts to learn the truth.' Dozens of anti-ICE protests have spread from coast to coast, with gatherings in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, San Francisco, San Diego, Denver, Seattle, Las Vegas, Raleigh, Columbus, Oklahoma City, Washington, D.C., and others. But Donald Trump is still having a difficult time believing that his nativist agenda is facing such widespread opposition: On Wednesday, the president torched a Fox News reporter when she informed him that the protests had spread outside of Los Angeles, spouting from the Kennedy Center's red carpet that he simply didn't believe her while patting his administration on the back for its military intervention in the City of Angels.
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
4 migrants escape from Newark ICE detention facility, DHS official confirms
Four migrants escaped from the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday evening following an apparent disturbance inside the building, a senior Homeland Security official confirmed to Fox News. "Additional law enforcement partners have been brought in to find these escapees and a BOLO has been disseminated," the official said. Immigration attorney Mustafa Cetin told that around 50 detainees at the private facility pushed down a dormitory wall after becoming agitated when meals were delayed. "It's about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive and it turned violent," Cetin said. He added that his client reported the wall was "not very strong" and described detainees hanging bedsheets in what may have been an escape attempt. The client also said he smelled gas during the incident. By 6 p.m., dozens of officers from the Essex County Sheriff's Office and Newark Police were present, according to Rutgers University-Newark professor Whitney Strub, who posted images of the police presence and said he and others outside the jail "were all coughing at the same time," after being exposed to what they believed was "some kind of gas," reported. At approximately 9 p.m., a group of protesters blocked an SUV from exiting an ancillary gate at Delaney Hall, forcing it to back into the facility. PIX11 News reported that the escapees were seen running near Turnpike 78 and Delancey Street. Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said his office was "concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees." "This entire situation lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail — including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights. This is why city officials and our congressional delegation need to be allowed entry to observe and monitor, any why private prisons pose a very real problem to our state and its constitution," Baraka said in a statement. "We demand immediate answers and clear communication with the GEO Group and the Department of Homeland Security. We must put an end to this chaos and not allow this operation to continue unchecked." The incident comes just two days after Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was indicted on three federal charges stemming from a previous visit to Delaney Hall on May 9. McIver was with Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka and others during what was described as an oversight visit. Baraka was initially charged with trespassing, but the charge was later dropped. Anyone with information about the escaped migrants is encouraged to call 911 or the ICE Tip Line, 866-DHS-2-ICE .
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Detainees at New Jersey immigration center revolt as chaos unravels
Unrest and protests have erupted in and around a controversial immigration detention center in New Jersey, with police and federal officials clashing with protesters after detainees reportedly pushed down a wall in revolt at the conditions they are being held in. Around 50 detainees pushed down a wall in the dormitory room of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday night, according to an immigration lawyer representing the men held there. 'It's about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive and it turned violent,' the lawyer, Mustafa Cetin, told NJ Advance Media. 'Based on what he told me it was an outer wall, not very strong, and they were able to push it down.' Following the uprising, a crowd of protesters gathered at the facility and videos posted on social media show them blocking vehicles being driven by law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents who sought to quell the disturbance. Amid the chaos, there were reports that four inmates were unaccounted for on Friday morning. This has not been confirmed, however. A group called NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice said that there were 'reports of gas, pepper spray, and a possible fire' inside the center. Delaney Hall is run by a private prison company called GEO Group, which holds a $60m contract with the Trump administration to hold as many as 1,000 people at a time within the facility and has a controversial history over conditions at centers. The center reopened following a refurbishment last month but has faced controversy with local politicians claiming that it doesn't hold the correct work permits and certificate of occupancy, posing safety risks. GEO Group has denied this. Shortly after its reopening, LaMonica McIver, a Democratic representative, was arrested after joining an oversight visit of the center. On Wednesday, McIver was indicted and charged with assaulting and interfering with immigration officers, charges which she has called 'a brazen attempt at political intimidation'. Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, was also arrested at the site in that incident, for trespassing, but those charges have been dropped. 'We are concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees,' Baraka said in a statement about the latest unrest at the center. He added: 'This entire situation lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail, including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights.' Ice has yet to comment on the situation at Delaney Hall. The clashes follow protests in several US cities over the detention of migrants and others by the Trump administration, most notably in Los Angeles, where Trump has deployed the military, a extremely rare and controversial move that is being challenged in court by the state of California.
CTV News
a day ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Disorder breaks out at New Jersey immigration detention centre
Protesters attempt to block a vehicle from leaving the Delaney Hall Detention Facility during protests over federal immigration enforcement raids in Newark, N.J., on June 12, 2025. (Olga Fedorova / AP Photo) NEWARK, N.J. — Protesters outside a New Jersey federal immigration detention centre locked arms and pushed against barricades as vehicles passed through gates, inmates inside relayed word that meals had been delayed, and Newark's mayor cited reports of a possible uprising and escape as disorder broke out at the facility. Much is still unclear about what unfolded at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where Immigrations and Customs Enforcement opened a 1,000-bed facility this year as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. Photos and video from outside the facility Thursday show protesters pushing against the gates amid word that detainees inside were upset about delayed meals. Amy Torres, executive director of New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said some officers sprayed pepper spray and tackled and dragged protesters away from the facility. She said some protesters had minor injuries, but no one was hit by the vehicles. An attorney for someone detained at the facility told told that people inside became violent after meals were delayed. 'It's about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive and it turned violent,' attorney Mustafa Cetin said. 'Based on what he told me it was an outer wall, not very strong, and they were able to push it down.' Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat who's been critical of Trump's immigration crackdown, early Friday called for an end to this 'chaos and not allow this operation to continue unchecked.' 'We are concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees,' he said. It's unclear whether there have been any escapes. Messages seeking comment were left with ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and local police. Delaney Hall has been the cite of clashes this year between Democratic officials who say the facility needs more oversight and the administration and those who run the facility. Baraka was arrested May 9, handcuffed and charged with trespassing. The charge was later dropped and Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was later charged with assaulting federal officers stemming from a skirmish that happened outside the facility. She has denied the charges said she was doing her job as a lawmaker conducting oversight.
