Newark Mayor and Gubernatorial candidate Ras Baraka was taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security on Friday afternoon. The arrest comes after Baraka has spent the last several days at the ICE detention center in Newark demanding to be let in.
In a social media post, Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba stated: “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.”
Delaney Hall in Newark was turned into an ICE facility under the Trump admin when private prison group The GEO Group leased it out for $63 million annually.
Amidst the arrest, the city of Newark was actively suing for more inspections. Mayor Baraka states that the facility is only approved to hold up to 1,000 individuals, but ICE has yet to make clear how many detainees they have housed in it. Additionally, the $1-billion, 16-year contract between Delaney and the government allegedly opened without proper permits and exists in contrast to a state law banning private immigration prisons.
Baraka has been showing up at Delaney demanding answers. He was detained for trespassing according to Habba. Many critics are citing this move as a clear overstep by DHS, while some have even painted it as politically motivated.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.