N.J. targets prison company running immigration detention center in lawsuits over conditions

The mayor of Newark is doubling down on his efforts to shut down Delaney Hall, the New Jersey immigration detention facility that has been at the center of protests for nearly two weeks, drawing demonstrators over allegations of poor conditions and counterprotesters voicing support for ICE .

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Mayor Ras Baraka announced Tuesday that the city will continue focusing its efforts on going after GEO Group, the major private prison company that operates the facility, instead of federal immigration agencies.

“This is not a federal facility, these are not federal grounds; it’s a private facility, private workers, and they are subject to state and municipal laws,” Baraka said in a news conference outside Delaney Hall Tuesday morning.

The city of Newark has been in a yearlong legal battle to get GEO Group out of Delaney Hall, alleging it did not obtain proper permits to reopen the previously shuttered facility last year. In court records, the company said it has a valid contract with ICE to operate the facility.

The mayor announced the city is planning to expand its existing lawsuit against GEO Group to include health and human safety violations at Delaney Hall as grounds to close the facility.

New Jersey state officials are also adding pressure against the company. Following Baraka’s news conference, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport filed another lawsuit against GEO Group, alleging the company is refusing to allow state health inspectors inside Delaney Hall to verify reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions at the facility.

“The reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions inside Delaney Hall are extremely concerning, and GEO Group — like any other business and facility in New Jersey — must follow the law,” Davenport said in a statement.

GEO Group and an attorney representing the company in this lawsuit did not immediately comment on the new lawsuit and on Baraka’s remarks.

Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, called the lawsuit “frivolous” in a statement to NBC News Tuesday afternoon. It added that “ICE is committed to transparency, and Delaney Hall complies with all required state and local laws.”

Daily demonstrations outside Delaney Hall erupted on May 22, following reports of detainees holding a hunger strike in protest of the facility’s conditions. Detainees, attorneys representing them and advocates have alleged inadequate medical care, poor living conditions and delays in immigration proceedings. They also allege that some detainees who joined the strike were placed in solitary confinement or transferred to other facilities.

DHS has denied the allegations and the existence of a hunger strike . On Monday, NBC News learned that White House border czar Tom Homan conducted an unannounced visit to Delaney Hall over the weekend and ate the same food detainees are given.

Baraka responded to that Tuesday, saying: “I’m sure they gave him good food and they gave him good treatment. He is the border czar.”

According to Bis, four New Jersey state health representatives completed a one-hour inspection of Delaney Hall’s food service department on Thursday.

“We will continue to grant state and local inspectors’ access to the facility where appropriate,” she said. “All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.”

GEO Group has referred to the allegations of poor conditions at the facility as “baseless accusations,” saying they “are part of a coordinated, politically motivated campaign by outside groups to dismantle ICE and federal immigration detention by targeting the government’s facility contractors.”

The company said in the statement that its “support services are monitored by ICE, including by on-site agency personnel, and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure compliance with ICE’s detention standards and contract requirements regarding the treatment and services ICE detainees receive.”

Those support services include “around-the-clock access to medical care,” dietitian-approved meals, religious and specialty diets, the statement said.

After clashes between demonstrators and authorities escalated , Baraka over the weekend implemented a curfew around Delaney Hall, and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill sent state police to establish protest zones. Sherrill cited public safety concerns after officials reported protesters had set tires and chairs on fire, thrown makeshift projectiles and weaponized police shields.

Demonstrations continued Monday evening, though Baraka said no new arrests were made and added that he hopes to lift the curfew in the next couple of days.

Multiple arrests have been made since the protests started. As of Monday, at least 50 people had been charged with curfew violations, including many who reside outside New Jersey.