What to know about the newly opened immigration detention center in New Jersey’s biggest city

By MIKE CATALINI President Donald Trump s administration expanded its maximum to detain immigrants not legally in the country by opening a facility in New Jersey s largest city this month spurring protests outside the fenced-in building including from Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Related Articles US Wellness department will analyze input from autistic Medicare Medicaid enrollees RFK Jr says Federal judge rules Georgetown scholar s wrongful arrest development will stay in Virginia House GOP backing off various Medicaid cuts as record shows millions of people would lose vitality care Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court electoral process to Democratic incumbent FAA fixing problems at Newark airport while planning overhaul of US air traffic control system Delaney Hall a -bed facility along an industrial stretch of Newark Bay opened May according to the private prison company that operates the center The administration s announcement came amid a headline-grabbing crackdown on immigration around the country and as it ramped up its efforts to deport certain immigrants The situation is playing out in Newark and in federal court as the mayor litigates against the company running the facility The city says it shouldn t be open yet because of building permit issues The conflict underscores the divide between what Trump views as an electoral contest mandate to deport people not lawfully in the U S and Democratic functionaries who question the administration s methods as well as the necessity of cracking down A closer look at what s going on at the Newark detention center What is Delaney Hall and why is it in the news The gray two-story building next to a county prison operated as a halfway house before a February announcement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that it and the GEO Group which runs Delaney Hall reached a billion -year deal for a detention center there Measure personnel stand in front of Delaney Hall a in recent times re-opened immigration detention center in Newark N J Wednesday May AP Photo Seth Wenig The new facility sparked pushback from immigrants rights groups and the mayor in particular Baraka sued GEO Group soon after the deal between the company and ICE was disclosed The episode got transferred from state to federal court where a judge is considering the city s request to temporarily block the opening of the facility It s not clear whether anyone is held inside yet GEO Group did not comment on whether it was holding detainees at Delaney Hall and ICE did not promptly respond to a request for comment What does the mayor say about it Baraka says the facility lacks the proper city permits in order to open including a certificate of occupancy He appeared Tuesday and Wednesday outside the facility s gates aiming to gain entry but ultimately being denied This comes as the mayor who is the son of late poet and activist Amiri Baraka is in a crowded Democratic primary to succeed term-limited Gov Phil Murphy also a Democrat Baraka has embraced the fight with the Trump administration over illegal immigration arguing the president is pushing constitutional due process limits It s not a Democratic or Republican issue in my mind This is an issue of human rights an issue of due process an issue of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States he disclosed this week We are afraid and opposed and alarmed by them setting up a detention center The city says Delaney Hall has permit issues such as needing grounded electrical outlets in a half-dozen rooms in the facility and a new entry gate that demands a permit related to electrical work among other things That s according to code inspection documents submitted in legal filings for the city s circumstance against GEO Group The inspection didn t find any problems with how fire extinguishers had been serviced and noted exit signs were properly installed Where does the company running the facility stand Florida-based GEO Group commented the mayor is politicizing the situation and that city officers didn t object when the Obama administration operated the facility as an ICE processing center Christopher Ferreira a company spokesperson noted via a message that the facility is creating hundreds of unionized jobs with an average annual salary of and is expected to contribute million to the local Newark economic activity In legal filings the company has argued there s no legal standing for the city to seek a preliminary injunction based on the purported violations of city codes