https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/may-26-2026
"Yesterday, federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement
pepper-sprayed Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) along with demonstrators outside Delaney
Hall, a 1,000-bed detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
In February 2025 the administration signed a 15-year, $1 billion contract with
the GEO Group, which operates private prisons, to expand the Delaney Hall
facility dramatically as an ICE prison. New Jersey officials have argued in
federal court that GEO Group does not have the required permits to operate the
expanded facility, yet the facility opened about a year ago.
In February, twenty-five detainees at Delaney Hall signed a letter distributed
by the national advocacy group for undocumented immigrants, Cosecha, as “Our
Cry: A Letter from Inside Delaney Hall.” In the letter, they apologized “for
the way we entered the United States,” explaining that “we were experiencing
safety circumstances that endangered our lives and the lives of some members of
our family.” They emphasized that they had surrendered to border authorities
and continued to work within the system, attending check-ins, getting work
permits, and paying taxes, before being seized by ICE agents.
They explained that they have not been afforded the legal hearings guaranteed
by the U.S. Constitution and are being pressured to self-deport under threats
of being sent not back to their country of origin, but rather to third
countries like Uganda. They noted that ICE agents have arrested children, the
elderly, and people with medical issues and that the facility is overcrowded.
In a second letter, Delaney Hall detainees expanded their picture of their
circumstances, noting that some of them have lived in the country for more than
a decade, have citizen children, and were complying with legal requirements.
They noted that detainees with HIV, cancer, diabetes, and heart conditions are
not receiving proper medical attention.
In the second letter, signed by nearly 300 people, the detainees pleaded with
“Senators, Congress members, foundations, and organizations that collaborate
with immigrants” for help. In big letters at the bottom of the document they
wrote: “S.O.S.,” the international distress call."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
