NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday afternoon at ICE detention center Delaney Hall. U.S. Attorney Alina Habba accused the mayor of trespassing and ignoring several warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the detention center. No federal charges have been filed. Lawmakers in Newark had previously demanded more information since the opening of the detention center for migrants near the city's waterfront. The hall is a private, for-profit facility with room for more than 1,000 people.
Baraka has said ICE renovated Delaney Hall without the proper work permits, inspections, and certificate of occupancy, posing safety risks. A spokesperson for Baraka's 2025 gubernatorial campaign confirmed to ABC News in a statement, separately, that Baraka "was arrested and detained by ICE... We are actively monitoring and will provide more details as they become available." Baraka and three members of the Congressional delegation for New Jersey - Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Rob Menendez, Jr. - had gone to the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility to conduct oversight, according to Watson Coleman and McIver.
"We've heard stories of what it's like in other ICE prisons. We're exercising our oversight authority to see for ourselves," Watson Coleman wrote in a post on Friday. McIver stated on Fox News that he was assaulted, as well as Congresswoman Coleman and Congressman Menendez was "roughed up" while trying to protect them. Assistant Secretary Dept. of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said that the members were "storming" and illegally broke into the facility. "Members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk," McLaughlin said in a statement. "Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation."
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy released a statement that he was outraged over Baraka's "unjust" arrest. The governor said he signed a law four years ago banning private immigration detention centers in New Jersey, and his administration has been leading the fight to defend the law before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. "Mayor Baraka is an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbors," Murphy said. "I am calling for his immediate release by federal law enforcement." Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who served as the mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013, said the incident "is disturbing, unnecessary and indicative of tactics that are undermining the safety and security of our communities, not adding to it. Law enforcement officers should have deescalated this situation. Mayor Baraka should be immediately released."
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said in a statement, "Arresting public officials for peacefully protesting violates the most basic principles of our democracy. The arrest of Mayor Baraka earlier this afternoon outside Delaney Hall in Newark is deeply troubling. People peacefully exercising their right to free speech and assembly should never be targeted for opposing the government's policies." (ABC News contributed to this report.)
Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark and one of six Democrats running to be New Jersey’s next governor, was arrested and detained by federal immigration agents Friday during a protest at an immigrant detention center in Newark, according to his campaign. Barak’s arrest comes just over a week after the migrant jail, Delaney Hall, opened its doors as the largest detention center on the east coast. Baraka, whose city filed a lawsuit challenging whether the facility’s owner secured proper city permits before opening, has spent the week protesting outside the jail and attempting to gain entry, to no avail.
A photo taken by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12), who was also at Delaney Hall Friday, shows a handcuffed Baraka being led away from the facility in handcuffs. It’s unclear whether he has been charged with any crime. He was taken to a Department of Homeland Security Investigations office on Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark, said Kabir Moss, a Baraka spokesman. About 200 people gathered under the pouring rain outside that building late Friday afternoon chanted: “Free Mayor Baraka!” and “No justice, no peace!” Some vowed they would not leave until he is released.
Acting U.S. Attorney of New Jersey Alina Habba said on social media that Baraka “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center.” “He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody,” said Habba. Habba, a personal lawyer for President Donald Trump, said in April that she is investigating Gov. Phil Murphy and state Attorney General Matt Platkin over the state ban on local law enforcement assisting in civil immigration enforcement. Under a 2018 attorney general directive, state, county, and local cops are barred from aiding federal agencies in civil immigration arrests or providing access to state or local resources and databases.
Reps. Rob Menendez (D-08) and LaMonica McIver (D-10), who joined Baraka and Watson Coleman at Delaney Hall before Baraka’s arrest, said ICE agents invited Baraka onto Delaney Hall property before arresting him for trespassing. “This is un-American,” McIver said. “It’s how Trump has weaponized police, weaponized immigration, weaponized ICE. You’re supposed to be getting criminals off the street. This is not that.” McIver, Menendez, and Watson Coleman said they went to Delaney Hall to inspect it as part of their oversight role. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday issued a statement saying they “stormed the gates and broke into the detention facility.”
“Members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. Baraka has made the opening of Delaney Hall a major issue in his campaign for governor. In February, private prison firm Geo Group announced it had secured a 15-year contract with ICE to use Delaney Hall as a 1,100-bed detention center amid ramped-up immigration enforcement.
Trump has made mass detention and deportation of immigrants — including some here legally — a pillar of his second term in office. Delaney Hall, which held immigrant detainees from 2011 to 2017, reopened May 1, despite Newark officials’ attempts to block the opening through the lawsuit. ICE officials have confirmed that detainees are being held there, but have not said how many. Murphy called Baraka’s arrest unjust and demanded his release. He noted that Baraka was among throngs of people and politicians who have protested outside Delaney Hall in recent months.
“Four years ago, I was proud to sign a law banning private immigration detention centers in New Jersey. And just last week, my Administration was leading the fight to defend that law before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,” Murphy said in a statement. “Mayor Baraka is an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbors. I am calling for his immediate release by federal law enforcement.” Platkin called Baraka’s arrest “deeply troubling.” People peacefully exercising their right to free speech and assembly should never be targeted for opposing the government’s policies.
