Overview:
The reopening of Delaney Hall in Newark under a $1 billion contract with ICE signals a renewed focus on detaining undocumented immigrants. Haitian enclaves across New Jersey, previously targeted by ICE, could see renewed enforcement actions.
Editorial Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Delaney Hall facility in Newark, New Jersey, operated by private prison firm Geo Group, resumed operations as an ICE detention center in May under a $1 billion, 15-year agreement. The move has raised concerns in New Jersey’s Haitian communities, which have been the focus of past immigration enforcement actions.
Delaney Hall, which can hold over 1,000 detainees, is one of several previously idle facilities now being reactivated amid the Trump administration’s push to expand the number of beds available for detaining undocumented immigrants. The administration has proposed increasing the current 41,000 detention beds to at least 100,000, and possibly more than 150,000.
“These conversions are not simply about space; they are about profit, politics, and the systemic criminalization of immigrants, particularly Black and brown immigrants,” said Kellisia Hazlewood, an immigration attorney and board chair of the Haitian American Caucus. The nonprofit works to support Haitian communities globally with access to resources and has offices in New York and New Jersey.
Private prison companies like Geo Group and CoreCivic are marketing their unused prisons to federal immigration authorities as part of this expansion. Since Trump took office, these firms have seen substantial financial gains — Geo’s stock rose 73% following the 2024 election.
The Haitian American population in New Jersey, particularly in cities such as Irvington and Newark, has previously experienced ICE raids. The revival of detention infrastructure in Newark heightens fears of renewed enforcement efforts in these communities.
ICE has used contract modifications, bypassing competitive bidding, to reopen facilities like Delaney Hall and another 2,500-bed center in Dilley, Texas. The financial terms of these modifications remain redacted in public documents. ICE did not respond to requests by the Associated Press for comment.
“It’s the gold rush,” said Michael A. Hallett, a professor of criminal justice at the University of North Florida, who studies private prisons. “All of a sudden, demand is spiraling. And when you’re the only provider that can meet demand, you can pretty much set your terms.”
With facilities being revived under large, opaque contracts and immigrant communities bracing for increased enforcement, the stakes are particularly high for Haitians in New Jersey. Haitian migrants, many of whom are seeking asylum or other humanitarian relief, risk being caught in a broad detention net as policy shifts toward increased deportation infrastructure.
“For the Haitian American community, this trend represents a compounded trauma,” Hazlewood added. “Many of our clients are fleeing instability, persecution, and poverty, only to arrive here and be funneled into carceral systems that were never designed to uphold justice, but rather to detain and dehumanize.”
Last Thursday, reports cited a possible uprising at the detention center, during which four detainees, originally from Honduras and Colombia, escaped. The FBI has since apprehended two of them.
Additional reporting by Dany Pierre from Brooklyn College Haitian Studies Institute’s Ayiti in the City program.