When oppression becomes unbearable, resistance erupts. The uprising at the Delaney Hall exposes the brutality of immigrant detention and the power of collective defiance.
Originally published in Newark Chapter of Community Movement Builders.
On Thursday, June 12th, 50 kidnapped immigrants revolted against their inhumane conditions at Delaney Hall, a private detention facility operated by GEO Group in Newark. By the time the tear gas settled, captives had torn down a wall, family visitation was cancelled, and protestors mobilized to interrupt facility operations from the outside. At least four captives successfully liberated themselves from their unjust detention. At the time of this writing, the actions of those inside, supported by solidarity actions on the outside, have increased the urgency in calls to shut Delaney down.
Guided by our values of Humanity and Solidarity, Community Movement Builders-Newark stands unequivocally in solidarity and support with the captives still inside, those already transferred since the rebellion, and those who escaped. We see all those who have been targeted and captured by the federal government’s reactionary and fascist campaign against immigrants as prisoners of war. Accordingly, we recognize the importance of a diversity in tactics in reaching the immediate objective of Shutting Down Delaney Hall and the larger objectives of creating autonomous zones against occupation, abolishing ICE, and defeating the imperialist powers and proxies around the world.
Delaney Hall has been the site of heightened political activity since the announcement of its reopening at the end of February 2025. Recognizing the assault on so-called immigrants as both a Black political issue and an expression of classical fascist strategy, a robust coalition of organizations in and around Newark have held a daily vigil to bear witness to the oppression of those held in Delaney Hall, to support their families in their needs at this time of crisis, and to agitate against the carceral state. CMB-Newark has been and will continue to be steadfast in these efforts, working with other organizations to develop a campaign to end detentions in the city.
Those inside Delaney Hall report that meals were not being served on time and in some cases were skipped entirely. Additionally, ICE puts strict limits on visitation hours and the number of people who can visit. Allowing only 15-20 people during visitation for a facility with a maximum of 1200 captives is an extension of the abuse and torture inflicted upon those inside. Furthermore, they often find any possible reason to turn families away, such as attire.
This past Thursday, the struggle matured dramatically with the resistance of the captives themselves. Starvation and inhumane conditions drove them to take matters into their own hands and attempt to free themselves. In response to the resistance of those inside, their captors deployed tear gas as families and organizers heard and felt the effects of gas that seeped out of the building. Visitation was abruptly canceled and organizers in the New Jersey area, including Community Movement Builders, quickly mobilized in response. Organizers began an impromptu protest and documented the happenings at Delaney Hall in support of the kidnapped detainees on the inside and the escapees on the outside. Families on the outside were supported as organizers helped to make sense of the situation and set up housing arrangements for those who traveled from afar. The protest increased in militancy as some protesters launched a blockade against ICE vehicles, preventing them from leaving and entering the facility since families were not being let in. Things turned violent as police maced protesters who continued to stand their ground in response.
We’d be remiss not to mention how the toxic gas released during the uprising increases the already existing health risks of those both inside and outside of Delaney which is located within the 10-mile stretch of the Ironbound community dubbed as the “chemical corridor”. The sewage plants, garbage incinerators, and industrial facilities which surround Delaney Hall, poisoning Newark’s air, must be understood through the lens of environmental racism. It is no coincidence that Newark, with a 47% black population, is the site of extensive polluting and waste facilities. The chemical corridor has impacted the health of Newark’s children. One out every four children in Newark suffers from asthma, which is three times the national average, and those children are hospitalized at 30 times the national rate. Detaining people at Delaney Hall puts those detained at risk and further contributes to the issue of pollution in Newark.
We have learned from the concrete analysis by our comrades in the Black Alliance for Peace that, “Oppression Breeds Resistance, Organizations Sustain It”. We understand the fight against Delaney Hall is a part of a larger battle against imperialist domination and capitalist exploitation. Just as white supremacist terror and Jim Crow apartheid forced black people from Mississippi and Alabama to relocate to Newark, we understand imperialist intervention and destabilization forces folks to leave their homelands in pursuit of an assumed better life. We understand, as black folks, it is our duty to be unified with others who are oppressed, and we must organize and resist the violence that we face on a day-to-day basis
Let us use this moment as an opportunity to realize that organizers, community residents, and all concerned people should band together to build power that can only be obtained with organization. We must commit ourselves to creating a better community and a better world for all of the oppressed who live in it.
We will fight for this and we will win!
In Solidarity,
CMB Newark
Hudhayfah Ahmad joins us to discuss how and whether the Abandon Biden campaign will change in the wake of Biden’s departure from the race and the elevation of Kamala Harris to the role of…
Ajamu Baraka, Chair of the Coordinating Committee of the Black Alliance for Peace, and columnist and editor at the Black Agenda Report, is on the ground in Venezuela and joined The Kim Iversen Show…
Sonya Massey’s brutal murder at the hands of the police has resulted in anguish and anger but no difference in how state violence is protested. Instead, we see surrender to the crumbs of condolences…
For the late Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Black music was a tool in the struggle for Black liberation, and not what it has mostly become today: a retrograde appendage to neoliberalism and white power.
Ajamu Baraka, Black Agenda Report editor and columnist, discusses observing the recent elections in Venezuela and why the U.S. still seeks to undermine that democracy.
