Overview
- New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking a court order that would require GEO Group to give state health inspectors full access to Delaney Hall for a comprehensive inspection.
- Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city will expand existing litigation and may sue to shut the facility on health and safety grounds if inspectors are still blocked from key areas.
- State filings and health officials say inspectors were limited to the food service area and were barred from the medical unit, sleeping quarters, showers and toilets, raising specific concerns about disease control including tuberculosis.
- The Department of Homeland Security and GEO Group reject claims of a coordinated hunger strike and say detainees receive meals and care, citing an internal DHS inspection that found compliance with 17 of 22 standards.
- Police actions around the site have included a nightly curfew, deployment of New Jersey State Police and dozens of arrests, and the coming court fight could determine whether inspectors gain access, whether the center remains open, and how public‑health and protest responses are handled.