New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill arrived at Delaney Hall, a private immigration detention center in Newark, on Monday, and federal officials blocked her from entering. Approximately 300 detainees at the facility had launched a hunger and labor strike before the weekend. Sherrill traveled with U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and members of the state’s congressional delegation.
WHYY reported that Sherrill’s office had spent days negotiating entry with federal immigration officials. The governor said in a statement that the denial “raising serious questions about what they are trying to hide from public view.” She added that she visited the site to hear from advocates and the families of those detained.
Nedia Morsy, director of Make the Road New Jersey, said in a statement, “Delaney Hall is a modern-day concentration camp operating right here in our own backyards.” Morsy added, “It’s flat out un-American, and we cannot in good conscience ignore the human rights violations described by the hundreds of people inside.” Federal officials had denied the ongoing hunger strike, according to WHYY.
Sherrill issued a statement Sunday calling reports of “unsafe, inhumane, and unconstitutional living conditions…completely unacceptable.”
Public Demands Governor Force Entry
Sherrill’s blocked entry left advocates and online observers questioning why a state governor could not inspect a facility operating within her own borders.
“Imagine the insane pretext one would need to deny THE GOVERNOR from entering a building, much less the real reason they’re not allowed to enter,” one commenter wrote. Another observer added, “The detainees are living in deplorable conditions and they won’t let any elected officials including the governor to go inside. It’s like we’re living in a third world country.”
“There’s got to be some serious [expletive] going on in that detention center,” one person wrote. Another commenter replied, “It feels so awful that my ostensibly representative government is committing atrocities. It fills me with a deep sense of shame.”
“You know that loophole that still allows slavery in the 13th amendment. This is it,” one observer noted. Another wrote, “Prisons holding people hostage is just the next symptom of a sickened society. Capitalism without rules is literally hell.”
“Honestly, she’s kind of weak for this. She should have towed every single car in the parking place t and threatened to have them crushed and solded for salvage within 6-8 hours unless the owners where turned over to the New Jersey state police,” one commenter argued. Another observer replied, “LOL, NJSP would likely fully support what’s going on in there.”
The governor’s blocked entry leaves unresolved whether state or federal authority will determine who inspects conditions inside New Jersey detention facilities.
