Escalation: New Jersey Launches Civil Rights Probe

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport opened a civil rights investigation into Delaney Hall, the 1,000-bed immigration detention center in Newark operated by GEO Group under contract with ICE. The Division on Civil Rights issued investigative subpoenas as it examines whether actions or failures by facility staff violated detainees’ rights to humane treatment and adequate medical care. Findings could lead to civil enforcement under New Jersey’s Civil Rights Act and Law Against Discrimination.

The probe follows months of protests and reports of hunger strikes, with detainees describing spoiled food and a lack of basic hygiene supplies. The Department of Homeland Security denies there were hunger strikes or poor conditions. Two deaths have been tied to the site in recent weeks, including Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 39, who collapsed at Delaney Hall and was pronounced dead at University Hospital on August 2; in a separate case, a man had a seizure during intake, was released from ICE custody, and died at a hospital.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill backed the move, saying ICE and GEO Group have blocked a full state health inspection and that visitation has been halted at the facility. She repeated her call to close Delaney Hall.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources