NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) Tuesday saw protests outside the immigration detention center at Delaney Hall in Port Newark, as well as the offices of Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba in Newark’s downtown.
The demonstrators were expressing both frustration and relief over the latest developments in a case related to Delaney Hall protests on May 9, in which a heated, physical confrontation took place involving Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, three local members of Congress, and Homeland Security police officers.
The protesters’ mixed reaction on Tuesday was due to misdemeanor charges against the mayor being dropped, but a felony charge being brought against one of the members of Congress, Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver.
The dozen or so demonstrators held up signs with messages opposing ICE and immigrant detentions as they stood along the truck route on which Delaney Hall is located. Truck after truck in the industrial area blew their horns in support.
“People aren’t losing their humanity completely,” said Kimberly Sosa, regarding the audible responses to the demonstration. “This is a serious issue, and I don’t know how anyone could support [the detentions].”
Kathy O’Leary, another protester, said that the support reflected the general optimism over the dismissal of the charge against Mayor Baraka.
“ICE should never have laid their hands on U.S. citizens,” she said. “ICE has no authority to take U.S. citizens into custody, and then hold them for what, six hours?” she said, referring to the detention in which Mayor Baraka had been held.
He was detained after going to Delaney Hall on May 9. He’d been invited for a tour to see if the facility was in compliance with city ordinances. After he’d entered the premises, three members of Congress — Reps. McIver, Rob Menendez, and Bonnie Watson Coleman tried to let him go inside the facility with them for an inspection. When he was turned away, the confrontation erupted involving the congressional delegation, Homeland Security police, and protesters.
Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said that McIver was physically aggressive with officers on the scene, and that’s why the member of Congress was charged with felony assault.
“The charges are absurd,” McIver said in an interview on Tuesday on CNN. She also talked about her legal team’s response to a request by prosecutors that she make a plea deal and admit to some kind of crime.
“I’m not doing that,” she said. “I’m not going to roll over and stop doing my job because they don’t want me to, or they want to neglect the fact that we needed to be there and see what was going on in that detention center.”
Members of Congress are allowed, by law, to enter federal facilities to inspect them at any time.
President Donald Trump had his own assessment of the incident that led to the charge against McIver. The president said that it was an open-and-shut case.
“That woman was out of control,” he said on Tuesday, in a press gaggle. “She was shoving federal agents. [She was] out of control. The days of that crap are over,” he said.
Back at Delaney Hall, Amiya Valentine, who said that her husband was arrested by ICE without due process, and is in custody inside Delaney, called unannounced congressional visits and frequent protests warranted. She said that they highlight the secrecy of the facility.
“Them showing that they don’t want us in there,” Valentine said, “just shows that there’s something going on there that is inhumane.”
On Monday, Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said in a social media post that she intends to take Mayor Baraka on a personal tour of Delaney Hall.
Newark City Hall did not respond to a request from affiliate WPIX to comment about Habba’s offer.
