Delaney Hall

Delaney Hall is a facility used for immigrant detention in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The private prison is managed by the GEO Group under contract for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which awarded GEO Group a billion contract for 15 years. Delaney Hall previously held immigrant detainees from 2011 to 2017. The facility re-opened in 2025 and has an authorized capacity of up to 1,196.

It is the largest facility of its type on the East Coast of the United States and the largest of the two in New Jersey, the other being the Elizabeth Detention Center. Both facilities are located near Newark Liberty International Airport and are used for the entire New York metropolitan area. It is located in an industrial area of Newark, neighbored by a natural-gas plant, a sewage-treatment facility, and an animal-fat–rendering plant amongst other facilities.

Delaney Hall has received significant media attention due to the arrest of the mayor of Newark during an oversight visit, poor facility living conditions and allegations of abuse by guards, a death in the facility as well as multiple hospitalizations, and detainee escapes from the facility over allegations of poor conditions. Detainees held a 30-day hunger strike which led to an escalation of protests outside the facility, leading to violent clashes between ICE agents and protesters blocking vehicles from entering the facility, as well as arrests of protesters and journalists and retaliation against strikers inside the facility.

Background and operation before 2025 Delaney Hall opened in 2000 and had been used to house federal, state, and county detainees. It was named to honor Geraldine O. Delaney, a pioneer in New Jersey drug and addiction treatment. While initially designed as a 250-bed rehabilitation center, the facility later transitioned to a high-capacity detention center operated by the GEO Group. GEO Group operated the facility from 2011 to 2017, at the time having a 450 capacity for immigrant detainees. It was then used as a drug rehabilitation center and halfway house until 2023, when it was vacated. In 2021, New Jersey passed legislation prohibiting local jails and private facilities from housing immigrant detainees. It was challenged in court and in 2023, the statute was struck down.

Reopening in 2025 The Geo Group entered into a 15-year contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate the facility, which was announced on February 26, 2025. Caleb Vitello, then-acting Director of ICE, stated, "The location near an international airport streamlines logistics, and helps facilitate the timely processing of individuals in our custody as we pursue President Trump’s mandate to arrest, detain and remove illegal aliens from our communities.”

Soon after, Mayor of Newark Ras Baraka, stated that the GEO Group had not complied with standard municipal building and safety regulations. Newark sued the GEO Group in New Jersey Superior Court in March, alleging that the facility did not have a valid certificate of occupancy (CO). In April, the case was transferred to federal court, where a judge was weighing Newark's request to close the facility "pending inspection and compliance with local, State, and administrative codes". When it opened in May 2025, the GEO Group stated that the certificate of occupancy issued in 2007 was still valid. That assessment is challenged by the city. In May 2025, Mayor Baraka's office stated, "The Health Department found minor violations at Delaney Hall that were corrected on-site at the time of the inspection. There are no open health violations."

May 2025 inspection visit and arrests

Unrest, escape of detainees, transfer of women detainees On June 12, 2025, following days of Delaney Hall detainees complaining about unacceptable conditions and lack of food, a small uprising occurred and four people escaped the facility after breaking through a sheet-rock interior wall. Two of the men were recaptured after three days. The third was captured shortly after, and the fourth was recaptured on July 18. Following the unrest, around 50 women were transferred from Delaney Hall to El Paso, Texas, where they were held in a tent-like facility opened in 2023.

Deaths of detainees In December 2025, 41-year-old Jean Wilson Brutus died while in custody at Delaney Hall. According to ICE, "On Dec. 11, 2025, Brutus entered ICE custody. He had no signs of distress during intake nor a medical history of cardiovascular issues." Roughly one day after arriving at Delaney Hall, ICE said that Brutus suffered a "medical emergency". He was brought to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead. The reason for death has been described inconclusive.

In August 2026, Salvadoran immigrant Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, died while in custody. ICE said that Mr. Lopez-Cornejo was pronounced dead in August 2026 at University Hospital after he experienced a medical emergency at Delaney Hall. The cause of his death was not known.

Hunger strike, protests, and incidents

Population A New York Times analysis reported that in early April 2026, Delaney Hall was holding 591 prisoners: 76 of them had criminal convictions and 123 faced criminal charges, according to government data. The data countered the DHS/ICE claims that most prisoners were criminals.

Delaney Hall

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