The material contradiction is now impossible to ignore.
On Monday, May 25, 2026, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill arrived at Delaney Hall
The GEO Group-run ICE detention center in Newark. Federal agents turned her away at the gate.
This was not a bureaucratic mix-up. It was the predictable enforcement of federal supremacy over any state attempt to scrutinize or protect people locked inside a for-profit cage.
Hunger Strike Timeline: From Desperation to Defiance
The resistance began Friday, May 22, 2026. Roughly 300 detainees across multiple units at Delaney Hall launched an indefinite hunger and labor strike. They refused all meals and the one-dollar-per-day forced work program.
Their demands were never about better cages. They called for the immediate release of the elderly, the young, the seriously ill, and the injured, along with full freedom and an end to the facility itself.
Detainees described the same conditions that have been documented for months:
Rotten food laced with worms and mold
Chronic medical neglect
No air conditioning in extreme summer heat
Severe overcrowding
Filthy bathrooms
Abusive guards
Rushed deportations that shred due process
These are not isolated complaints. They are the logical output of a private prison operator maximizing profit by minimizing ca
Delaney Hall Detention Facility. Source: New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
By Saturday, May 24, the strike had drawn national attention. When guards attempted to transfer strike organizer Martin Soto (who had already lost nearly 30 pounds), protesters outside physically blocked every exit and van. Detainees inside cheered through the windows as the blockade held for hours. ICE agents eventually cleared a path, but the message was clear: the people inside and outside are united against the machine.
Community members protesting outside Delaney Hall. Source: WHYY
Congressional Democrats, including Senator Andy Kim and Representatives Rob Menendez and Analilia Mejia, conducted oversight visits and described inhumane treatment. Yet the federal government continued to gaslight the public, with DHS and ICE claiming there is “no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time.”
May 25: Governor Sherrill Is Turned Away at the Gate
On Monday morning, May 25, Governor Sherrill made her first visit to the facility as governor. She had formally requested access the day before. Federal agents denied her entry at the checkpoint. She was turned away a second time when she attempted to assess the situation and speak with families gathered outside.
Sherrill’s office confirmed the denial. In statements and on-site comments, she expressed being deeply disturbed by reports of unsafe, inhumane, and unconstitutional conditions. She has long called for the closure of Delaney Hall and reiterated that position Monday.
Yet the federal government’s response was the same as always: no entry, no oversight, no accountability.
This denial is not personal to Sherrill. It is the direct result of the Federal Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution, which declares federal law the “supreme Law of the Land.”
Under this clause, no state governor, legislature, or local official can interfere with or protect residents from federal immigration enforcement, even when that enforcement is outsourced to a private company like GEO Group that profits from human suffering. The clause is the legal shield that allows the federal government to disappear people into cages while states are left powerless to intervene, even when those people are New Jersey residents or have deep ties to the community.
Raw Footage and Primary Sources
Watch the denial and the growing protests in real time:
ABC7 New York: Gov. Sherrill denied entry to Delaney Hall (short clip of her on site)
CBS New York / NJ.com: Coverage of the multi-day protests and clashes
Status Coup: Independent footage of the May 24 blockade of the ICE transfer van (search YouTube for Delaney Hall protesters block van)
NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice: Page with detainee statements and demands: njaij.org/dh_hungerstrike
Gothamist: Full report on the ongoing strike and congressional visits: gothamist.com/news/hunger-strike-continues
The Cold Truth
Delaney Hall is not a detention center. It is a profit center for GEO Group. The hunger strike is not a request for reform. It is resistance against a system that treats human beings as disposable inputs for federal contracts. Governor Sherrill’s denial of access proves the limits of state power when it collides with federal supremacy and private prison interests.
The strike continues. Conditions inside remain deadly. Solidarity outside is growing. The federal government’s refusal to allow even a Democratic governor to see what is happening behind the razor wire tells you everything you need to know about what they are trying to hide.
Free them all. Shut down Delaney Hall. End the private prison grift that turns human suffering into quarterly earnings.
Subscribe, share, and support the mutual aid funds and organizations on the ground (NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice and local groups). The people inside are risking everything. The least we can do is refuse to look away.
This article is based on reporting from NJ.com, Gothamist, The Jersey Vindicator, WHYY, and primary statements from the NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice as of May 25, 20
