Trump administration officials told a judge that a Newark police memo directing city cops not to respond to calls at migrant jail Delaney Hall created “a zone of lawlessness,” but city officials said police will still respond to disturbances there.
The disagreement stems from a memorandum sent Monday by a police captain in the city’s 3rd precinct saying that “no officers are to handle any call for service pertaining to Delaney Hall” for the remainder of the week. Last week, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said his police force should not be used to protect the private detention facility from anti-ICE protesters.
Scenes from outside Newark migrant jail Delaney Hall
“This policy undermines public safety and creates ongoing injuries and discrimination to the United States, which continues to suffer as a result of Newark’s sanctuary policies and their effect on the Delaney Hall facility,” Department of Justice trial attorney Jackson Story said in a letter to a federal judge.
The letter was filed in the United States’ case challenging the legality of Newark, Hoboken, Paterson, and Jersey City policies that bar local authorities from assisting in federal officials’ civil immigration enforcement efforts.
A Newark official told the New Jersey Monitor that the memo was issued in a single precinct, misrepresented city policy, and had been disregarded. Local police could still respond to incidents there, but the department would first monitor the area with drones and deploy a supervisor to gauge whether local authorities were needed.
“If it is determined that additional Officers are required for the protection of protesters or others at the scene, Officers will immediately respond to provide public safety services,” said Catherine Adams, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Public Safety.
The 1,000-bed immigration facility, owned and operated by private firm Geo Group, has for months drawn protests that in recent weeks intensified after a group of detainees said they launched a hunger and labor strike to protest conditions inside the jail. Federal officials say there is no hunger strike and contend conditions at the facility are not poor.
State and local officials have grappled with how to handle those clashes. Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration directed the New Jersey State Police there in late May in a bid to halt escalations, and Newark’s police force took over after troopers faced accusations of excessive force.
Newark officers faced similar accusations last weekend, and Baraka conceded some officers were “over aggressive and should be held accountable.”
Local and state health officials have been denied full inspections of the facility, and Newark has sued over its presence in the city, arguing it failed to secure proper permits before opening. A Sherrill administration health inspection of the jail’s kitchen area gave it a satisfactory rating.
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