Four escape migrant detention center in Newark, authorities say

Four detainees have escaped from an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The men escaped from Delaney Hall, a privately run New Jersey detention facility that local elected officials have sought to close since before it began receiving detainees in May.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Sen. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, said the men broke through a drywall and mesh barrier to escape. “Somebody kicked down a wall that wasn’t supposed to be there,” Baraka, who was arrested in May after trying to enter the facility, told the Washington Post.

The timing of the escape is unclear. Delaney Hall was also the scene of a disturbance Thursday as demonstrators protesting conditions in the facility were facing off with law enforcement officers, according to an immigration advocate present who provided a video of the scene to the Post.

Baraka said there was some disorder among the detainees over delayed and inadequate food Thursday, which prompted protesters to gather outside a visitor gate.

DHS said in a statement that “there has been no widespread unrest at the Delaney Hall Detention facility.” The facility, it said, is dedicated to providing high-quality services including medical care, meals, visitation and opportunities to practice religious beliefs. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for more information about the escape.

Authorities are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Honduran men Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, and Colombian men Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada and Andres Pineda-Mogollon, DHS said. Their charges range from petit larceny to aggravated assault.

“Additional law enforcement partners have been brought in to find these escapees,” DHS said.

Geo Group, which runs the 1,000-bed detention center and is one of the largest private prison operators in the U.S., told the Post it is cooperating with law enforcement to find the escapees. “The safety and security of the Delaney Hall Facility and our neighbors in the local community is our top priority,” according to a company spokesperson.

Amy Torres, executive director of advocacy group New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, said she went to the facility after her group received reports on their hotline of a lunchtime fight breaking out and inmates not receiving adequate food. Torres said she was aware of reports of escapees but did not see them while she was there Thursday.

Torres said that federal agents, dressed in tactical gear with helmets and carrying zip ties, arrived at Delaney Hall and unloaded boxes that had the word “explosive” written on the side.

Photos shared by Torres showed agents unloading vans that carried canisters with stickers affixed that read “toxic” and “flammable solid.” A shipping label on one of the boxes listed the address of the ICE field office in Newark. A spokesperson for ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the boxes.

When family members and the growing group of protesters asked about the boxes, Torres said, the federal agents ordered people back or risk being pepper-sprayed. “That, of course, really inflamed” the situation, she said.

After the agents went inside, protesters sought to block the gate to prevent anyone else from going inside, Torres said. Video provided by Torres shows a gate open and two tinted vehicles drive out. Agents can be seen clearing barriers that had been placed in front of the path, creating space for the vehicles to leave, as protesters surround the area.

“Shame on you!” one person can be heard yelling at the vehicles as they drive away.

Delaney Hall has been a center of controversy in recent weeks. Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey) were arrested and charged in May after trying to visit the facility, which Baraka has tried to shut down following complaints of inhumane conditions. This month, Baraka sued President Donald Trump’s interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, claiming that the arrest was politically motivated. The charges against Baraka were dropped, but the state’s top prosecutor announced Tuesday that McIver had been indicted.

In February, Geo Group said that ICE had awarded it a 15-year, $1 billion contract to establish Delaney Hall as a federal immigration processing center. In late March, Baraka’s administration sued, claiming Geo Group did not have a valid certificate of occupancy.

ICE and Geo Group have been accused of abusing and neglecting detainees by community members and elected leaders.

Geo Group previously told the Post that it is proud of its role supporting law enforcement. Geo Group did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.