Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, his war against illegal immigrants has raged throughout the United States. Immigration centers, of which there are now over 80, have become a place to detain and house supposed illegal immigrants while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carries out mass forced deportations.

Delany Hall, a privately owned 1,000 bed site in Newark, N.J., was the first immigration detention center to be opened after Trump authorized their use to assist ICE. Now, the state of New Jersey is suing The GEO Group, the owner of 21 Immigrations and Customs Facilities across the country including Delaney Hall, over allegations of inhumane conditions and treatment of detainees. As of Tuesday June 2nd, the state had requested that the court grant full, unrestricted access to the state health department as part of their investigation.

The lawsuit came after clashes between protestors and law enforcement drew national attention to the claims of inhumane treatment at the facility.

The detention facility and the state of New Jersey have been at odds for over a year. In 2025, the city of Newark sued The GEO Group, claiming GEO had neglected to obtain the proper state permits before opening. This first lawsuit is still underway as the state-filled lawsuit is now also being brought against GEO.

“The reports of detainees… receiving inadequate medical care, psychological abuse is troubling,” prompting the city to prepare “to expand… our lawsuit against Delaney Hall further than just code enforcement violations” said Newark Mayor Ras Baraka in a news conference on Tuesday.

New Jersey State Troopers were called in over the weekend by Governor Mikie Sherrill to replace the ICE agents who had been clashing with protestors. No arrests were made outside Delaney Hall Monday night, distinct from the 61 arrests that had been made Sunday night. This replacement of ICE agents with State Troopers hopefully encourages a switch to a more peaceful solution for both protestors and law enforcement while the state continues to fight to inspect the facility.

Mayor Baraka has also implemented a temporary curfew for a half mile around Delaney Hall to prevent more issues between protestors and law enforcement, though he says he hopes to be able to lift the curfew by Wednesday.

In a statement Sunday morning, Governor Sherrill told press that masked individuals attacked a protest barrier set up by state policeSaturday night and were “throwing projectiles, utilizing the barriers as weapons, and lighting tiers on fire in the street.”

“These actions put both peaceful protesters and law enforcement in danger,” Sherrill said, emphasizing the focus must be on “better conditions for the detainees, their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall.”

Allegations being brought against GEO and Delaney Hall include detainees being served spoiled food, being kept in unsanitary living conditions, and a lack of adequate medical care. Many of these allegations are based on letters from detainees inside Delaney Hall.

“The letters describe alarming health conditions, including widespread illness, flu outbreaks, and the denial of necessary medical treatment for chronic and life-threatening conditions such as HIV, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease,” a statement from Mayor Baraka summarized. “Detainees also report inadequate and poor-quality food, compounding these dangerous and inhumane conditions.”

Officials from within Delany Hall continue to claim the detainees being held there are treated with the utmost care, calling criticisms of the detention center “political theatre.”

“No law breakers in the history of human civilization have been better treated than illegal aliens. They are provided 3 meals a day, medical care, and receive full due process” said Homeland Security Spokesperson Lauren Bis on Friday.

Regardless of their claims that Delaney Hall is still compliant with state and municipal health department laws, numerous requests from the Newark and New Jersey governments to enter the facility and allow the health department to conduct a full investigation have been repeatedly denied.

Hopefully, this newest lawsuit from the state of New Jersey will force this matter further into the open and reveal the inhumanities being committed in detention facilities like Delaney Hall across the country, acting as the first step on the path to shutting the facilities down for good.