All articles tagged with #immigration detention
The family of North Carolina pastor Gabriel Johnson, who suffered a stroke while in ICE custody and was moved to Texas, has finally been allowed to visit him as they press for his release so he can begin rehabilitation, while raising questions about medical care and treatment access within the federal detention system.
A U.S. appeals court (the 2nd Circuit) overturned a lower-court ruling that had ordered the release of Columbia University activist Mohsen Mahdawi from immigration detention, saying the case should be handled in immigration court. The decision does not automatically re-arrest him, and the ACLU says there is no legal basis to deport or detain him while the appeals proceed. Mahdawi can seek a full-court rehearing or petition the Supreme Court, as the case remains tied to the administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activism.
An off-duty Geo Group employee at an Aurora, Colorado ICE processing center shot a protester after demonstrators blocked the entrance, injuring a woman with a non-life-threatening wound. The 42-year-old suspect, Brandon Booth, was arrested on charges including attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault; Geo Group placed him on unpaid administrative leave as authorities investigate amid ongoing protests and concerns about detainee conditions at the facility.
Seven active measles cases at the Florence Detention Center complex in Arizona have prompted quarantines, halted movement inside the facility, and suspension of non-legal visits as ICE works to contain the outbreak; DHS says detainees are receiving medical care and that there are no confirmed cases at Eloy or the Florence Staging Facility, but advocates say detainees still face limited access to legal services and healthcare, underscoring a broader rise in measles cases nationwide amid waning vaccination rates.
During a Father’s Day protest outside the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, a demonstrator waving an upside-down American flag was hit by a red Dodge Challenger and was not seriously injured, according to the protesters. Ice officers pepper-sprayed demonstrators soon after the collision. The anti-ICE group Visible Brigade alleged the driver was an employee of the GEO Group, though this has not been confirmed, as activists continued their protest demanding detainees be released and the facility closed.
Residents of Social Circle, Georgia mobilized against a plan to convert a warehouse into what would have been one of the country’s largest immigration detention centers, part of a broader push under May 2024- era DHS policy changes. After local lawsuits, political pressure, and ongoing controversy, DHS reportedly canceled the project, though officials have not provided a written confirmation, and the town awaits whether the site will be sold to a private buyer or repurposed for another use.
A New York judge found Brad Lander not guilty of misdemeanor charges tied to a September attempt to inspect conditions at a Manhattan immigration detention facility; Lander and about 75 others were arrested at 26 Federal Plaza after seeking access to detention conditions following a federal judge's order to improve them. He had previously been arrested at a federal courthouse and is running to represent New York's 10th congressional district.
Former New York City Comptroller and congressional candidate Brad Lander faced a federal bench trial for his September protest at a DHS/ICE immigration detention facility, where he and about 75 others attempted to inspect detained immigrants’ rooms; Lander pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges, with deliberations wrapping Wednesday and a verdict expected Thursday morning as he plans to call three witnesses. The case follows a prior June arrest during advocacy for immigration defendants.
Protests outside Trenton target Gov. Mikie Sherrill over the Delaney Hall hunger strike at Newark’s immigration detention center, with state police deployed, clashes and arrests reported, and detainees demanding release and direct talks. Newark officials took over supervision, Geo Group-related lawsuits were filed, and Sherrill announced funding boosts for immigration defense programs as demonstrators vow to keep pressure on officials until the detainees’ demands are met.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced continued efforts to shutter Delaney Hall, a privately run immigration detention center operated by GEO Group, by expanding state and local lawsuits over improper permits and alleged unsafe, unsanitary conditions; New Jersey officials also filed a separate suit alleging GEO blocked health inspectors, while protests and hunger strikes drew attention and prompted a public safety curfew as officials argued the facility is subject to state law despite it being a private operator.
New Jersey’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against Geo Group, the private operator of the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark, seeking a court order for the state health department to have full access for inspections after reports of inhumane and unsanitary conditions and a hunger strike; inspectors had only limited access and were barred from key areas as protests and clashes surrounding the facility continued.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka declared a curfew within a half-mile of the Delaney Hall immigration detention center due to escalating protests, restricting movement from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and closing a nearby road for non-essential traffic as clashes and concerns about detainee conditions persist around ICE operations.
Newark's mayor announced a limited curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in parts of the city after clashes around the Delaney Hall immigration detention center, with Gov. Mikie Sherrill backing the measure as Democrats seek to avoid federal intervention amid ongoing protests and scrutiny of the facility.
Detainees at the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark are on a ninth day of hunger and labor strikes demanding better conditions and medical care, while protests outside the privately run GEO Group facility pit anti-ICE demonstrators against Trump-supporting counterprotesters. New Jersey state police took over policing from ICE amid tensions, with Gov. Sherrill facing pressure and federal officials weighing in; a pepper-spraying incident and confrontations with guards have been reported as detainees seek a meeting with the governor.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill was denied access to the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark as detainees’ hunger strike enters its fourth day; about 300 detainees are participating and protesters gathered outside demanding to meet the governor. Sherrill says her office has been coordinating with federal immigration officials to gain entry and vows to press ICE to improve conditions and push for the center's shutdown.