By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics editor
In an incident that sets a tense, new mark in President Donald Trump’s escalating campaign to export aliens, Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, NJ, was taken into custody today after he and supporters, including Democratic members of Congress, unsuccessfully tried to gain access to Delaney Hall, a facility purchased by private prison operator, the GEO Group, working under contract with ICE.
Baraka says the center is operating illegally without necessary city permits. Former Trump attorney Alina Habba, recently appointed as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, says that is not true.
The controversial 1,000-bed facility is owned by the private prison company GEO Group, which entered into a 15-year, $1 billion contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February.
“We are trying to get in, and we are going to get in today,” said Baraka, who is also running for New Jersey’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination. “It doesn’t matter who is inside, I think they may have detainees, they shouldn’t be in there. We allowed the courts to negotiate this when there were no detainees and just workers, GEO and us. ICE doesn’t have a long-term lease with these folks, so GEO is completely responsible and hiding behind ICE right now.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy rebukes the arrest
“Mayor Baraka is an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbors. I am calling for his immediate release by federal law enforcement,” Murphy said in a statement Friday afternoon.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin criticizes mayor’s arrest
U.S Attorney General Alina Habba supports the arrest
In a statement on X, interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said Baraka committed trespass and ignored warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center.
“He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state,” Habba added.
When appointed by Trump, Habba took a pugnacious stance toward New Jersey’s Democratic leadership.
Anybody who gets “in the way” of President Trump’s efforts to deport migrants will be charged “for obstruction, for concealment,” Habba, the interim U.S. attorney in New Jersey, warned.
“I will come after them hard,” she said.
Who is Ras Baraka? Why was he arrested today (USA Today)
Baraka, 55, is a former high school teacher, principal and community activist. Before becoming the city’s mayor, he held a seat on the city council.
Known as a progressive Democrat, Baraka this year is one of six Democratic candidates in the June 10 gubernatorial primary in New Jersey to replace term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy.
Baraka’s candidacy was recently endorsed by several high-profile labor unions and progressive groups, including 32BJ Service Employees International Union, New Jersey Citizen Action and Make the Road Action New Jersey.
Asked how he would respond to President Donald Trump’s executive policies for the recently published NJ Spotlight News Voters Guide, Baraka promised to “defend our people, expand protections, and fight against by example for the rest of the country.”
“New Jersey must resist every effort to roll back civil rights, immigrant protections, reproductive freedom, and climate action,” Baraka said.
He was also highly critical of ICE practices being carried out under Trump’s administration in a recent NJ Spotlight News op-ed. In the same piece, Baraka said elected officials and judges who “all swear to uphold the Constitution, are duty-bound to be muscular, not meek, with their power to stop it now.”
Newark’s Mayor Arrested at Protest Outside ICE Detention Center (NY Times)
Newark mayor arrested during congressional visit to NJ ICE facility NBC4
New Jersey mayor arrested at ICE detention center where he was protesting (Scripps)
Melber: Alina Habba’s probe into New Jersey Dems is retribution (Ari Melber)
This is developing story. Check in with EnviroPolitics for updates
