4 detainees escaped from a Newark ICE detention facility after advocates say poor conditions led to ‘chaos’
By Zoe Sottile, Priscilla Alvarez, Holmes Lybrand, CNN
(CNN) — Four detainees have escaped from a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey, which has been the center of protests since its opening in May and where both a sitting congresswoman and Newark’s mayor have been arrested.
The detainees were held at Delaney Hall, a privately owned 1,000-bed facility that Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses as a detention center. Lawmakers and demonstrators have protested outside the facility, calling for more oversight and criticizing President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said additional law enforcement partners “have been brought in to find these escapees and a BOLO has been disseminated.” She also encouraged the public to call 911 or the ICE Tip Line: 866-DHS-2-ICE with any information that may lead to finding the escapees.
The escape comes amid escalating nationwide protests against federal immigration enforcement. In response to the demonstrations, which started in downtown Los Angeles and were prompted by immigration raids, Trump has federalized the National Guard against the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
More protests are expected over the weekend, including more than 2,000 “No Kings” anti-Trump demonstrations planned across all 50 states.
The detainees “breached security” at Delaney Hall on Thursday, DHS said. While the agency said “there has been no widespread unrest” at the facility, federal and local police officers responded to reports of a fight, according to an immigration advocate who was at the facility.
Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, told CNN she heard from family members of detainees inside Delaney Hall that the commotion began Thursday after the detainees had been fed insufficient lunch after going more than 20 hours without food.
Torres said Friday advocates have learned “chronic food shortages, undrinkable water, crumbling mesh walls, and inadequate staffing led to the chaos” that occurred Thursday.
“This should be the last day that GEO Group is allowed to do business in New Jersey,” she added, referring to the private corporation that owns the detention facility.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement to X that he was “concerned about reports of what 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,” Baraka went on. “This is why city officials and our congressional delegation need to be allowed entry to observe and monitor, (and) why private prisons pose a very real problem to our state and its constitution.”
DHS and the FBI are offering a $10,000 award for information leading to the arrest of the escapees, who were described as “public safety threats” in a news release announcing the award.
The escapees had all been arrested on criminal charges, according to the DHS news release. CNN has not yet identified whether the escapees have legal representation.
Mayor, congresswoman arrested at facility last month
Last month, several Democratic politicians protesting the facility’s opening clashed with federal agents. Baraka was arrested for trespassing and held in custody for several hours but the charge was later dropped. The mayor is now suing New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor over his arrest.
Stemming from the same incident, Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey was also charged with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal law enforcement officers – a rare federal charge against a sitting member of Congress – and indicted by a grand jury Tuesday. McIver says the charges are baseless.
The escape follows several high-profile jailbreaks in the past month.
Two inmates are still on the run after a group of 10 escaped from a New Orleans jail, and a former police chief convicted on rape and murder charges escaped from an Arkansas prison before being recaptured earlier this month.
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CNN’s Lex Harvey, Alisha Ebrahimji and Diego Mendoza contributed to this report.
