Newark mayor arrested and charged at ICE detention center in New Jersey

Newark (New Jersey) Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested and charged with trespassing on Friday after he attempted to visit a new immigration detention facility in his city – an event that became a flashpoint in tensions between the Trump administration and officials pushing back against its aggressive immigration crackdown.

The arrest unfolded in a chaotic scene outside Delaney Hall, a privately run detention center that can hold up to 1,000 migrants at a time. Federal agents clashed with observers as Baraka and three Democratic members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation – Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez Jr. and LaMonica McIver – attempted to inspect the facility.

Interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and his personal attorney, accused Baraka of trespassing and ignoring “multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself.”

“He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state,” Habba wrote on X. “He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

Videos of the incident reviewed by the Washington Post show Baraka entering a fenced parking area at the facility with the lawmakers before being instructed to leave by federal immigration officials. He complied and was standing outside the fence at the time of his arrest.

Watson Coleman told MSNBC that Baraka was talking with ICE employees and “was invited inside of the gate to have the conversation” before they “told him that he had to go back into the public area.”

Baraka, who is running to succeed Gov. Phil Murphy (D), has broadly criticized Trump’s immigration policies and repeatedly sought to block the opening of Delaney Hall, accusing its operator – private prison company GEO Group – of bypassing local building permits and safety requirements. In April, Newark sued GEO, alleging that the facility lacked a valid certificate of occupancy. GEO has denied wrongdoing and dismissed the lawsuit as “politically motivated” in court records.

The 15-year, $1 billion contract between GEO and the federal government was signed earlier this year as the Trump administration pushed to rapidly expand detention capacity in the Northeast. The detention center is the first to reopen under the new administration, according to ICE, and with proximity to Newark Liberty International Airport could play a major role in Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

On Friday, the lawmakers arrived around 1 p.m. for an unannounced oversight visit of Delaney Hall – part of a broader effort to “ensure the detention facilities are humane,” said Ned Cooper, a spokesman for Watson Coleman. Baraka had been visiting the facility regularly in recent days to try to gain access and arrived Friday on his own accord, Cooper added.

“Members of Congress can inspect these facilities without notice. They can just stop by,” Cooper said, adding that the legislators had done so before. “They spoke to guards outside the facility, and explained who they were, why they were there.”

The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Menendez and Watson Coleman “stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility,” then “holed up in a guard shack.” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called the congressional visit a “bizarre political stunt.”

“Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility,” McLaughlin said in a statement.

The scene captured on video contrasts sharply with the claim that the lawmakers protesters “stormed the gates.”

As the legislators waited to be escorted into the facility, Baraka – who had been admitted into through the gate – was “told he wasn’t allowed to be there,” Cooper said. Baraka stepped back and stood outside the gate with a small group of observers who had begun to gather, Cooper said.

A man in a suit then approached Baraka and said, “They’re talking about coming back to arrest you,” video shows.

“I’m not on their property,” the mayor replied. “They can’t come out on the street and arrest me.”

Several ICE agents – some wearing face coverings – then emerged from the facility and approached the group on the public side of the fence. As more people gathered, the agents approached Baraka and the lawmakers formed a loose circle around him. Screams of “Don’t touch her” and “Don’t put your hands on her” rang out as the agents attempt to bypass the congresswomen and handcuff Baraka.

Ultimately, Baraka was arrested. The lawmakers were finally admitted into the detention facility thereafter.

In a flurry of statements, Democratic leaders across New Jersey blasted the altercation. Murphy called Baraka’s arrest “unjust.” State Attorney General Matthew Platkin (D) said the arrest of public officials “for peacefully protesting violates the most basic principles of our democracy.”

“This incident is disturbing, unnecessary and indicative of tactics that are undermining the safety and security of our communities, not adding to it. Law enforcement officers should have deescalated this situation. Mayor Baraka should be immediately released,” Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) also said in a news release, adding that the detention center “should have never gone forward.”

American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Executive Director Amol Sinha also condemned Baraka’s arrest, calling it “a shameful escalation of the Trump administration’s intimidation campaign against officials who refuse to do their bidding.”

Baraka’s arrest also comes as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller indicated Friday that the Trump administration is actively exploring whether it can suspend habeas corpus, the right for an individual to challenge their detention in court. Earlier in the day, Miller claimed that the Constitution makes clear that habeas corpus can be “suspended in time of invasion,” echoing the Trump administrations views that the United States is being “invaded” by migrants.

On Friday evening, Baraka was released from custody. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Baraka declared to a crowd gathered outside the Homeland Security Newark Field Office. “I’m out, I’m out.”

The crowd cheered.

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Aaron Schaffer and Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.