Four detainees who escaped from the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, are still missing, according to law enforcement officials.
The incident, described by the city’s mayor as an “uprising,” involved the detainees breaking through a wall comprised of drywall with a mesh interior, which led to an exterior wall and into a parking lot.
U.S. Senator Andy Kim, D-N.J., was briefed on the situation by facility administrators and ICE leadership alongside Representative Rob Menendez, D-N.J.
Senator Kim remarked on the incident, stating, “That just shows the incompetence and the recklessness of all this.”
The escape followed disturbances at the facility over the past 24 hours, largely related to food access issues.
According to Kim, movements of detainees disrupted the ability for many to access food, prompting unrest among the detainees.
“We don’t want this here in New Jersey,” he added, emphasizing the importance of treating individuals with dignity.
In light of the escape, Delaney Hall is undergoing a security review, with discussions about major movements among detainees and the facility’s future status.
There are ongoing concerns regarding potential vulnerabilities in other areas of the facility, and Kim has called for full confirmation from ICE about the future of the site.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is aware of the escaped detainees, who have been identified as four men in the U.S. illegally, with prior arrests for offenses such as aggravated assault and burglary.
DHS named the detainees as Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, both from Honduras, and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada and Andres Pineda-Mogollon, both from Colombia.
In response to the situation, additional law enforcement partners have been enlisted to locate the escapees.
A be-on-the-lookout notice (BOLO) has also been circulated, and DHS, along with the FBI, is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to their arrest.
While reports indicated widespread unrest at Delaney Hall, DHS disputed this view, asserting that the facility remains devoted to maintaining high-quality services, including medical care and access to legal resources.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka expressed concern over the treatment of detainees at the facility, stating, “We are concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees.”
He is demanding immediate answers from the facility’s owner, GEO Group, as well as from the Department of Homeland Security regarding the situation.
Representative LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., who represents Newark in Congress, is also closely monitoring developments following reports of unrest at Delaney Hall.
“I have serious concerns about the reports of abusive circumstances at the facility,” she stated.
Despite her outreach efforts to ICE for clarification on the situation, she has yet to receive a response.
Both McIver and Baraka had previously been involved in a tense incident at Delaney Hall during a congressional oversight visit, which resulted in a federal indictment against McIver for allegedly impeding law enforcement officers.
McIver characterized the prosecution as an intimidation tactic and announced her intention to plead not guilty.
As efforts to locate the escaped detainees continue, the community remains anxious about the conditions within Delaney Hall and the implications of the recent uprising.
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