State leaders call for Delaney Hall to close, citing poor conditions inside the facility
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined Representatives Analilia Mejía and Rob Menéndez, local officials and families who shared their experiences with immigration detention.
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Democratic leaders and families impacted by immigration detention gathered in Morristown Tuesday, calling for changes to federal immigration policies and the closure of Delaney Hall.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined Representatives Analilia Mejía and Rob Menéndez, local officials and families who shared their experiences with immigration detention.
Jeffries called conditions at Delaney Hall and other ICE detention facilities “un-American,” citing concerns about medical care, food and living conditions.
“Delaney Hall needs to be shut down,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries also referenced three deaths connected to Delaney Hall, calling them “completely and totally unacceptable.”
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Mejía said people detained at the facility have reported waiting days to have medical complaints addressed. She said the medical care detainees receive is often minimal.
One of the people sharing her experience Tuesday was Margarita Cielo Valbuena, who was detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center for two months earlier this year.
Valbuena said she experienced what she described as physical abuse during her arrest and poor conditions while detained. She also said detainees were served spoiled food and that she witnessed other detainees struggling to get medical care.
Mejía said she intervened after visiting Valbuena and learning that she was receiving only a portion of the diabetes medication she needed.
“It should not be this way,” Mejía said, arguing that people in immigration detention deserve access to adequate medical care and due process.
The lawmakers also highlighted the family of Edwin Jeovanny Lopez Cornejo, whose death has been connected to Delaney Hall. Menéndez pointed to Lopez Cornejo’s 12-year-old daughter, who is now without her father.
The lawmakers called for greater oversight of private immigration detention facilities and comprehensive immigration reform, including a pathway to citizenship for some long-term, law-abiding immigrants.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is separately investigating practices at Delaney Hall.
Jeffries said House Democrats will continue pushing for changes to immigration enforcement and reiterated that Delaney Hall should be shut down.
