House Democrats will travel to Newark, New Jersey, on Wednesday to hold a congressional forum on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility Delaney Hall, following weeks of protests and riots over alleged inhumane conditions inside.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the top Democrat on the House homeland security committee, announced over the weekend that some of the panel’s Democratic members will travel midweek to Delaney Hall and conduct oversight of the facility during an event at City Hall.
An unspecified number of the hundreds of illegal immigrants detained at Delaney Hall have alleged that the food, medical care, and other conditions inside are subpar, though the Department of Homeland Security has maintained that conditions inside go far beyond those of federal prisons.
“By every account, the conditions at Delaney Hall are deplorable and inhumane. The facility must be shut down,” Thompson said in a statement. “Anyone in the Federal government’s care must be treated humanely and must be provided proper medical care, sanitary conditions, and a safe environment. ICE is clearly failing at their job. With Congressional Republicans refusing to uphold their oversight responsibilities, it is incumbent on us to act.”
Democratic lawmakers will host a forum called “The Human Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Detention: Conditions and Oversight at Delaney Hall,” where they will hear from witnesses about what it is like inside the privately operated facility, the state of oversight, and why some believe it ought to be shut down. The media advisory did not indicate whether Democrats would attempt to go inside Delaney Hall during the visit to Newark.
A senior House minority aide told the Washington Examiner on Monday that other expected attendees at the forum include Reps. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), Nellie Pou (D-NJ), Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), Al Green (D-TX), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).
McIver, who was indicted last year on charges of assaulting a federal law enforcement officer outside Delaney Hall, said in a statement this weekend that she will attend the forum. McIver is appealing a lower court’s decision not to dismiss her case, and it is pending before the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She has maintained that the federal charge was political and that she is protected by legislative immunity.
“Every American needs to know what is going on behind the gates at that facility,” McIver said. “Detainees are having to choose between drinking spoiled milk or starving, people are being held after agreeing to be deported, and two pregnant women have suffered from miscarriages. This moment is too crucial for our leaders to stay on the sidelines. I’m glad that my Democratic colleagues are joining me to host a shadow hearing in Newark so Americans can see what is being done in their name and with their money to people in their communities.”
Witnesses include Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D); the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice’s deputy director of strategy, Viri Martinez; American Civil Liberties Union New Jersey’s executive director, Amol Sinha; and Adam Marshall, a U.S. Army veteran detained by ICE.
As the minority party, Democrats cannot hold a committee hearing, but they can hold a forum. Republicans are not expected to attend.
The forum will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The House is on district work through Thursday, so members will have to travel from their home states to attend.
As of late last week, police had arrested at least 30 people outside Delaney Hall on charges of assaulting law enforcement and other felony offenses since Memorial Day, when House Democrats first descended on the facility and demanded to go inside. Members of Congress are legally permitted to tour an ICE detention center without giving prior notice; however, local and state lawmakers are not authorized to enter unannounced.
DELANEY HALL PROTESTS COORDINATED LARGELY BY REVOLUTIONARY-LEFT ORGANIZATIONS
Lawmakers said late last month that detainees were going on a hunger strike to protest what they described as the inedible food they were being served. White House border czar Tom Homan responded that the Trump administration would look into force-feeding detainees and said that detainees were buying snacks from the commissary.
Homan also said the facility would not be shut down and that even if it was shuttered, detainees would be transferred to another ICE facility, not released.