New Jersey sues Delaney Hall operator for access to immigration detention facility
Key takeaways
- Any facility housing people in New Jersey must meet basic standards under the law to prevent the spread of disease, keep food and water safe, and minimize health risks.
- Hundreds of detainees housed at the facility launched a hunger and labor strike last month to bring attention to their living conditions, prompting a visit from Sen.
- The lawmakers reported that detainees were served rotten food and denied essential medical care, according to the lawsuit.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Superior Court in Essex County asks a judge to grant the New Jersey Department of Health immediate entry to Delaney Hall, a former halfway house owned and operated by The GEO Group in Newark, N.J., for a full inspection.
The complaint details significant concerns about public health conditions at the facility, including overcrowding, inadequate medical care and hygiene practices, unsanitary food and bathroom conditions and the unchecked spread of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19 and the flu.
Any facility housing people in New Jersey must meet basic standards under the law to prevent the spread of disease, keep food and water safe, and minimize health risks. That includes Delaney Hall, Raynard Washington, the New Jersey health commissioner, said in a statement.