Human Impact Project

Four detainees escaped from Delaney Hall, a privately-owned immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on June 12-13, 2025, by breaking through inadequately constructed interior and exterior walls. The escape occurred amid reports of disorder at the facility, including complaints about delayed meals, poor conditions, overcrowding, and unhygienic facilities. Two of the escapees—Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez from Honduras and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada from Colombia—were recaptured by federal authorities by June 12-13. Two others—Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon, a Colombian national—remained at large as of mid-June, with the FBI offering up to $10,000 for information leading to their arrests. All four face federal charges of escape from custody. DHS stated the escapees have criminal histories, and facility management announced plans to move detainees out over the following 24 hours.

A federal judge dismissed trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka related to a standoff at a migrant detention center. The judge stated that the 13-day process from arrest to dismissal was problematic and instructed prosecutors that their duty is to justice and not solely to securing convictions. Baraka had visited Delaney Hall, a facility housing immigrant detainees, as part of an oversight visit with members of Congress. Rep. LaMonica McIver was indicted for allegedly impeding the arrest and assaulting federal officers; she has pleaded not guilty.

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was indicted on three counts of forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers following a May 9 incident at Newark's Delaney Hall ICE detention facility. The indictment, announced June 10 by U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, carries a maximum sentence of 17 years if convicted on all counts. McIver has pleaded not guilty and stated she was conducting lawful congressional oversight duties. McIver and her attorney deny the charges and characterize the prosecution as political retaliation.

Sen Miao Lin, a 67-year-old Chinese man, was detained at Delaney Hall ICE detention center where he repeatedly asked for but never received medication for his Type 2 diabetes and hypertension for nearly a month. At one point during his detention, he collapsed, lost consciousness, and was rushed to the emergency room. His attorney filed a federal lawsuit alleging this medical neglect in May 2025. His case is one of over 70 lawsuits filed by detainees at Delaney Hall alleging medical neglect and deficiencies at the facility.

ICE transferred 20-year-old Cristofer Ortega from New Jersey to a detention center in Louisiana despite having an approved legal pathway to citizenship through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. Ortega, who arrived in the U.S. at age 9 and has no criminal record, was detained after an encounter while completing his HVAC certification. ICE is planning to deport him to Honduras before he can apply for his green card.

Jorge was detained by ICE on March 23 when he arrived for a scheduled biometrics appointment as part of his U visa application, a pathway to legal status for crime victims. According to his wife, staff delayed him, told him to wait, and then contacted immigration authorities. ICE agents entered and detained him immediately. Jorge has no criminal record and is a survivor of gun violence. He is currently held at Delaney Hall, a privately run immigration detention facility in Newark, and has not received an initial court date to determine if his detention is lawful.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Emine and Celal Emanet, owners of Jersey Kebab restaurant in Haddon Township, New Jersey on February 25, 2025. The couple, who came from Turkey nearly two decades ago on visas, had fallen out of legal status and were being detained by ICE. Celal Emanet was released with an ankle monitor, while his wife remains in ICE custody awaiting a bond hearing scheduled for mid-March.

ICE agents raided Ocean Seafood Depot at Adams and Delancey streets in Newark, New Jersey, on January 23, 2025, detaining both undocumented workers and U.S. citizens. The business owner said about a dozen agents entered without a warrant or court order around 11 a.m., demanded employee identification, and took three people into custody. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said one detainee was a U.S. military veteran whose military documentation was questioned by agents, and he denounced the raid as a violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Rep. LaMonica McIver called for answers from the Department of Homeland Security about how the agency detained citizens and a veteran without a warrant. ICE confirmed the operation occurred and acknowledged U.S. citizens may have been detained during the enforcement action.

D.E., a 44-year-old Mexican national, was detained by ICE without a warrant just two blocks from his home in Long Branch, NJ, interrupting chemotherapy scheduled to begin the same week for a brain tumor he has had for 12 years. He was initially held at Delaney Hall in Newark before being transferred to the California City Detention Center, where a CoreCivic guard was more than five hours late delivering his twice-daily seizure medication, Keppra, leading to a severe nighttime seizure. D.E. said he jammed his arm between his bed frame and the wall to keep himself from falling into the nearby toilet during the episode, and later filed a written medical grievance requesting a cancer specialist that went largely unaddressed. His case was cited in a broader review finding that the immigration detention grievance system, meant to allow detainees to report medical neglect and abuse, has collapsed amid the dismantling of federal oversight offices.