Rep. LaMonica McIver is demanding the closure of the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in New Jersey after reports of a hunger strike and labor strike by detainees protesting what advocates and lawmakers describe as inhumane conditions inside the center.
In a video shared on Instagram, McIver said detainees at the facility have grown “sick and tired” of alleged mistreatment, including inadequate food, lack of medical care, and unsafe living conditions.
“We should all be sick and tired of this,” McIver said. “It is inhumane. It is completely wrong.”
According to the congresswoman, detainees launched the strikes in response to ongoing complaints that conditions inside Delaney Hall have remained dangerous and inadequate since the facility opened more than a year ago.
“People are still without food, still without adequate food, fresh food,” she said. “They are still without medical care.”
McIver also referenced the death of Jean Wilson Brutus, who she said died less than 24 hours after entering the facility, as well as allegations involving pregnant women and injured detainees allegedly being denied proper treatment.
“We have women who are pregnant there that are not getting any OBGYN care,” she said. “We have people who have been injured that have not received any adequate care at all.”
The lawmaker argued that many individuals detained at the facility are being held despite having no criminal record or after already agreeing to deportation proceedings.
“They are being held against their will,” McIver said. “They are being held with no criminal record. They are being held after agreeing to be deported. This administration continues to hold them hostage and it’s wrong.”
Delaney Hall, located in Newark, has faced mounting criticism from immigrant rights advocates, civil rights organizations, and some elected officials who argue that the facility’s conditions violate basic human rights standards. Advocates have repeatedly raised concerns about overcrowding, medical neglect, food quality, and transparency regarding detainee welfare.
McIver said she recently visited the facility again and claimed the same problems persist.
“I was just there last week, same conditions. Horrible, horrible, horrible,” she said.
The congresswoman called on federal agencies and elected officials to intensify efforts to investigate the facility and ultimately shut it down.
“I’m going to continue to do everything that I can under my power to continue to advocate for Delaney Hall to be closed,” she said. “It should not be open. It is not adequate to be open. It should not be holding detainees.”
The reported hunger strike comes amid growing national scrutiny over conditions inside immigration detention facilities across the United States, particularly as immigration enforcement and deportation policies remain politically contentious issues.
Immigrant advocacy groups have long argued that detention facilities often lack sufficient healthcare access, mental health services, and protections for vulnerable detainees, including pregnant women and asylum seekers.
McIver urged the public to remain vocal about the allegations emerging from Delaney Hall.
“We all have to continue to be loud,” she said. “Continue to speak out about the things that are happening.”
As of now, federal immigration authorities have not publicly responded to McIver’s latest allegations regarding the conditions inside the facility or the reported strikes by detainees.
