File photo U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was able to visit the inside of the immigrant detention facility, Delaney Hall recently. On a previous visit she was not allowed in and was involved in an altercation that led to criminal charges.
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, accompanied by two other members of Congress, was able earlier this month to conduct an oversight visit at Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility run by a for profit company in Newark.
Reps. Yvette Clarke (NY-09) and Rob Menendez (NJ-08) accompanied McIver, who represents East Orange, Irvington, Orange, and West Orange, on the visit to the site where a man died earlier this month while in custody.
In May, McIver, Menendez and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman attempted to conduct an inspection of Delaney Hall, which members of Congress are legally permitted to do. The visit led to the Trump administration bringing charges against McIver after a confrontation with ICE representatives in front of the facility. The recent visit was the first McIver has made to Delaney Hall since being indicted.
The members released the following statements after the visit:
“I have a responsibility to serve the people and protect the people of the 10th Congressional District, and that is why I had to put aside my experience here and come back to represent them–to see what is happening inside of Delaney Hall. These are the things we’re hearing: people who have not had a court date in months, people who are waiting on loved ones who cannot visit them, and people who are not getting proper medical care. It is awful, and this detention center needs to be shut down. That’s why we’re here. We’re going to continue to show up, continue to have oversight, and continue to do our jobs,” said Rep. McIver. “When we left, a detainee told us this is not the America that we dreamed of. They thought they would be able to come here and have a better life.”
“What we saw inside Delaney Hall is the betrayal of the American Dream,” said Rep. Menendez. “These are people who believe in the promise of this country and are being ripped from our communities and held there on the American taxpayer’s dime. All while the GEO Group is making an enormous profit and providing substandard care. We will not let this stand and we will continue to work to hold this Administration and those who benefit from tearing communities apart accountable.”
“No human being deserves to suffer the conditions we witnessed behind the walls of Delaney Hall, today. What our tour made overwhelmingly clear is that Jean Wilson Brutus’ death is a symptom of a larger culture of inhumanity that is inherent to for-profit detention centers like Delaney Hall. Nearly a thousand of our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, and our loved ones are confined to this facility indefinitely, where they are treated every day as though they are less than human. Across the nation, many thousands more are facing the exact same circumstances,” said Rep. Clarke. “Being undocumented should not be a life sentence, and under no circumstance should it be a death sentence. Tragically, every passing week under this administration’s control creates more victims like Jean Wilson Brutus. That sin will stain America for all time, and all those who are responsible for it must and will be held accountable.”
In September, McIver wrote DHS and GEO Group to specifically highlight the conditions at Delaney Hall and reached out after this most recent death.
Media inquiries seeking comment from Immigration and Customs Enforcement are referred to an email address. Emails sent to this address were not returned.
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was able to visit the inside of the immigrant detention facility, Delaney Hall recently. On a previous visit she was not allowed in and was involved in an altercation that led to criminal charges.
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