Congresswoman LaMonica McIver is escalating her criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the privately operated Delaney Hall detention center, accusing the facility of abuse, medical neglect, and excessive force against protesters while demanding that the center be permanently shut down.
In a forceful Instagram video, McIver said conditions at the New Jersey immigration detention facility remain “a complete nightmare” more than a year after she says she first raised alarms during a congressional oversight visit.
“People are dying in this facility,” McIver declared. “People are not getting food. People without adequate health care in this place are not getting the medical assistance that they need.”
The Democratic lawmaker renewed calls to close Delaney Hall and abolish ICE entirely, arguing that ongoing reports of detainee mistreatment and aggressive responses to demonstrators reflect systemic failures within the federal immigration detention system.
“My stance then was that ICE should be abolished, and nothing has changed about that,” she said.
McIver also accused officials and private prison operators of profiting from harmful detention practices. Delaney Hall is operated by private prison company GEO Group, which has faced criticism from immigration advocates and civil rights groups over conditions inside detention facilities.
“These private prisons are profiting off this behavior,” McIver said. “Profiting off treating people like literally less than.”
The congresswoman referenced recent confrontations outside Delaney Hall involving demonstrators protesting immigration detention policies. According to McIver, protesters have allegedly been pepper-sprayed and struck with rubber bullets during several days of demonstrations.
“We are seeing days of abuse happen at Delaney Hall,” she said. “This is exactly the cruelty and the pain that ICE and this administration loves to enforce.”
While McIver made serious allegations regarding detainee treatment and protest responses, many of the claims have not been independently verified. Federal immigration authorities and facility operators have not publicly responded to all accusations raised in the video.
McIver additionally pointed to her proposed “No Delaying Oversight Act,” legislation she says is designed to ensure members of Congress cannot be blocked or delayed from conducting oversight visits at immigration detention centers.
“At the end of the day, no member of Congress should be delayed or stopped from having oversight,” she said.
The remarks reflect intensifying national legal and political battles over immigration enforcement, private detention facilities, detainee conditions, and the limits of federal oversight authority.
Immigration advocates have increasingly pushed for stricter transparency requirements and independent monitoring of detention facilities, particularly as protests and litigation surrounding ICE operations continue across multiple states.
Meanwhile, supporters of stricter immigration enforcement argue detention facilities remain necessary components of border security and federal immigration law enforcement.
McIver, however, insisted the current system has crossed moral and legal lines that demand immediate action.
“We have to do more than just show up,” she said. “We have to actually have action.”
