Newark Mayor Taken Into Custody Near ICE Center: What We Know
By Anna Commander
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was taken into custody on Friday outside of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center, Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba said on social media.
Newsweek has reached out to Baraka's office via email for comment on Friday.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has prioritized illegal immigration as a key pillar during his second term in office. His administration's push for mass deportations, however, have been getting held up in courts nationwide.
Within the first 100 days of his second term, the president invoked the Alien Enemies Act, granting him authority to deport and detain noncitizens. The implementation was originally blocked in court.
Recently, deportations involving families and children have come back into question as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has defended its practices saying in part that "rather than separate their families, ICE asked the mothers if they wanted to be removed with their children or if they wanted ICE to place the children with someone safe the parent designates."
What To Know
Baraka, a Democrat, and other lawmakers were seen outside Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center, on Friday urging federal officials to allow them inside to observe conditions.
On social media, Baraka, who is running to be New Jersey's next governor, posted about the center throughout the week showing up and demanding entry.
In a Monday news conference, Baraka said the city is suing the operator of Delaney Hall, Geo Group, for alleged inspection violations. The mayor said the ongoing court battle follows a pattern of Trump himself as he accused the operating group of doing the same by obscuring the laws.
When reached for comment via email on Friday, the Geo Group referred Newsweek to ICE.
Meanwhile, videos outside the detention center show a loud scuffle unfold, ultimately leading to Baraka being detained, according to Axios reporter Andrew Solender.
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Fox News' senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram also reported on X, formerly Twitter, that "Dem NJ Rep [LaMonica] McIver claims that ICE officials 'roughed up' Dem lawmakers who waited to get into an ICE detention facility in Newark."
Pergram continued: "Dem NJ Rep [Robert] Menendez Jr. says ICE brought '20 armed individuals' over to 'intimidate' Mbrs of Congress and the Mayor of Newark."
News 12 New Jersey reporter Amanda Lee reported on X that Baraka was arrested after getting into an argument with agents. Lee said lawmakers "were shoved after trying to include Baraka in conversations after he gained entry through the gate."
Habba took to X confirming the reports and wrote, "The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon. He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW."
DHS wrote on X that the incident occurred when a bus carrying detainees was entering the gate of the center when a group of protestors, including congressional lawmakers, "stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility."
"The allegations by Newark politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting is false. Meet who the New Jersey lawmakers are fighting for," DHS added then threaded the backgrounds of ICE Newark detainees.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark, New Jersey, is seen walking past Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents standing near a gate to Delaney Hall, a newly converted immigrant detention center, during a protest near the... More Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP
What People Are Saying
Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, a New Jersey Democrat, on X on Friday: "We're at Delaney Hall, an ICE prison in Newark that opened without permission from the city & in violation of local ordinances. We've heard stories of what it's like in other ICE prisons. We're exercising our oversight authority to see for ourselves. @RepLaMonica @RepMenendez."
In a media availability after exiting the facility, Coleman said, according to New Jersey Globe reporter Joey Fox paraphrasing the lawmaker: "This was assuredly the most disconcerting, discomfiting experience we have ever had [in an ICE facility]. What we witnessed was the weaponization and abuse of power."
Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on X on Friday reacting to Baraka being taken into custody: "I am outraged by the unjust arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka earlier this afternoon outside of Delaney Hall in Newark. I am calling for his immediate release by federal law enforcement."
Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who is also running for New Jersey governor, wrote on X: "In Newark, the airport is in the midst of an unprecedented & dangerous meltdown, the public schools are failing students & families, and there is crime in the streets every day. And yet its Mayor and leading Democrat candidate for Governor, @rasjbaraka, is busy shilling for illegal Immigrants at an ICE detention center with a cheap publicity stunt. Shameful."
A spokesperson for GEO Group to Fox News Digital last month: "The attempt by local and state officials to stop the opening of a lawful federal immigration processing center at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark is another unfortunate example of a politicized campaign by sanctuary city and open borders politicians in New Jersey to interfere with the federal government's efforts to arrest, detain, and deport dangerous criminal illegal aliens in accordance with established federal law."
They added: "These politically motivated tactics threaten both public safety and the local economy and are based on bogus claims about the Delaney Hall facility, which previously operated as a federal immigration processing center for six years under President Obama's administration, without opposition from local political leaders."
What Happens Next
Jersey Globe reporter Fox said the lawmakers will stay at Delaney Hall until they receive information on Baraka's status.
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