U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8th) said the Trump administration is peddling a false narrative about the conditions inside Newark’s Delaney Hall immigration detention center, after he spent hours at the facility amid escalating protests and clashes involving federal agents over Memorial Day weekend.
In an interview with NJ Spotlight News, Menendez said detainees described inadequate healthcare, poor food and confusion over why many were being held.
“These are people who are married to U.S. citizens and have U.S. citizen children,” Menendez said. “There are individuals there who are pregnant.”
Menendez accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of escalating tensions outside the privately-run detention center to shift attention away from conditions inside.
Protesters and federal agents clashed Monday, with pepper spray and pepper balls deployed outside the facility. U.S. Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) has said he was among those exposed to the chemical spray.
Menendez also said federal officials improperly blocked his attempt to conduct an unannounced congressional oversight visit Sunday night before detainee Martin Soto was transferred overnight to another New Jersey facility.
The Department of Homeland Security has denied allegations of unsafe conditions and said agents used the “minimum amount of force necessary” during the confrontations.
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