Newark, N.J. Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested by Federal Police at ICE Detention Center

Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside of Delaney Hall, a federal immigration detention center, on Friday, May 9. Baraka had been protesting the facility’s opening this week, claiming it was not being run legally.

Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, confirmed Baraka’s arrest on X Friday, writing, “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,” she continued. “That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”

PEOPLE reached out to Baraka’s office for comment.

Baraka has been vocally pushing back against the opening of Delaney Hall, which is run by private prison operator GEO Group, alleging there were issues with the building permit, per the Associated Press and NBC New York.

Witnesses said that on Friday, Baraka tried to enter the building with Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman for a previously scheduled “oversight” visit and tour of the building.

However, federal agents wouldn’t let him inside, and a dispute occurred, activist Viri Martinez of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigration said, according to the outlets. Baraka returned to the public area of the gates, but the heated exchange allegedly continued.

“The agents started intimidating and putting their hands on the congresswomen. There was yelling and pushing,” Martinez recalled, per NBC New York. “Then the officers swarmed Baraka. They threw one of the organizers to the ground. They put Baraka [in] handcuffs and put him in an unmarked car.”

Watson Coleman documented the moment on X with photos and videos of them not being allowed inside Delaney Hall.

“We’re at Delaney Hall, an ICE prison in Newark that opened without permission from the city & in violation of local ordinances,” Coleman wrote. “We’ve heard stories of what it’s like in other ICE prisons. We’re exercising our oversight authority to see for ourselves.”

The Department of Homeland Security addressed the incident in a statement and alleged that members of Congress bombarded the building as a group of detainees were being bussed inside.

“Members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. 

The DHS added that allegations that the 1,000-bed detention center has building permit issues are “false.”

“We have valid permits, and inspections for plumbing and electricity, and fire codes have been cleared.”

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy condemned the arrest on X, writing in part, “I am outraged by the unjust arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka earlier this afternoon outside of Delaney Hall in Newark.”

He also called for Baraka’s “immediate release.”

Delaney Hall, which sits next to a county prison, used to be a halfway house. In February, ICE awarded The Geo Group a $1 billion, 15-year contract to operate the facility as a detention center. Baraka filed a lawsuit against the GEO Group, but the facility began housing detainees on May 1, CEO David Donahue said during a shareholders’ call on Wednesday, May 7, NBC New York reported. He also noted that the facility is on track to make over $60 million a year.

The deal came amid the Trump administration’s plans to increase the number of detention beds nationwide from a budget of 41,000 beds, according to NBC New York and the AP.