A protest at a new immigration detention facility in New Jersey descended into an uproar on Friday, as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and multiple congressional Democrats decried severe treatment from federal law enforcement.
Baraka was released on Friday night and federally charged with trespassing at the facility.
“What’s happening now in this country, everybody should be scared of,” Baraka told supporters and press after being released from custody.
The aggressive moves mark a rapid escalation in the Trump administration’s ongoing confrontations with Democratic public officials, who have criticized the administration’s targeting of undocumented immigrants and deportations.
New Jersey’s interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, until recently President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, put out a statement Friday afternoon accusing Baraka of refusing to abide by commands from federal law enforcement.
“The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon. He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW,” she posted.
Her office declined to share information about the matter by phone. The FBI and ICE field offices in Newark did not immediately respond to emailed inquiries. Baraka’s office did not reply for comment.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called for Baraka’s “immediate release by federal law enforcement” in a statement. “Mayor Baraka is an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbors,” he said.
Multiple congressional Democrats were at the facility Friday and said they were mistreated by officials on the scene.
“We came here simply to perform our oversight duties,” Rep. LaMonica McIver told reporters in a briefing after. She said the members of Congress waited “over two hours” to get into the facility.
“What all of you watched occur is just how reckless ICE is,” she said. “It is unacceptable that me as a member of Congress, as a Black woman here, and this city was just assaulted by multiple ICE officers while regional directors of ICE watched it happen.”
She said Rep. Rob Menendez was “roughed up” as he tried to “protect” her and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
Mendenez told reporters ICE brought “over 20 armed individuals — 20 armed individuals — to confront the mayor of Newark, along with three members of Congress. It was an act of intimidation.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in a press release that the members “stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.”
“Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities,” DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
When asked about the members’ claims that they were “assaulted” by ICE officials, McLaughlin texted NOTUS, “We look forward to sharing the video.”
Baraka, who is running for governor, vowed to attend daily demonstrations to protest this week’s opening of an immigration detention center named Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility run by The GEO Group. Newark’s public officials have accused GEO of failing to pass a safety inspection, and Baraka claims the facility has not allowed inspectors entry into the facility.
In February, the company announced ICE had awarded it a 15-year contract for Delaney Hall, which it said would bring “in excess of $60 million in annualized revenues for GEO in the first full year of operations” and an estimated $1 billion during the next decade and a half. GEO CEO George C. Zoley celebrated what he called “an unprecedented opportunity to help the federal government meet its expanded immigration enforcement priorities.”
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Jose Pagliery and Oriana González are reporters at NOTUS.