Hundreds of immigrants detained at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, have launched a hunger strike and labor strike, refusing to perform the work that helps keep the privately operated detention center running. The action has drawn national attention to GEO Group, one of the largest private prison and detention companies in the United States, and its long-standing reliance on detainee forced labor.
The protests come amid growing concerns about conditions inside immigration detention facilities and weakening oversight across the system. Just weeks after the federal government shut down the only independent office responsible for investigating complaints in detention centers, detainees at Delaney Hall are alleging abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
“a system that has turned human suffering into a business”
Detainees reportedly began striking at Delaney Hall on May 29, refusing food and refusing to work in protest of conditions inside the facility. People held at Delaney Hall reportedly clean bathrooms, serve meals, and perform other essential jobs for as little as $1 a day.
According to the Prospect,
About half of all of those kidnapped by ICE are working in the facilities, according to Georgetown Law. That allows GEO Group executives to avoid the overhead cost of hiring an outside workforce, which would cut into their revenue, which was $705.2 million for the first quarter, a 17 percent increase over last year.
US Senator Andy Kim, who visited protesters outside the facility, said detainees were being paid “next to nothing” and that he had also heard reports of people being required to work without compensation.
Although ICE classifies these jobs as part of a “Voluntary Work Program,” detainees and advocates argue that the system is voluntary in name only. Detainees who refuse work assignments have reportedly faced retaliation, including threats of transfer, isolation, or the loss of privileges. It gets worse. One advocate shared that some detainees get paid with “soda” for their work. She also said that some detainees use their own money to purchase supplies to do their jobs as they are not given sufficient supplies.
Striking fear into GEO Group
The strike is part of a broader pattern seen across immigration detention facilities nationwide. Hunger strikes have increasingly become one of the few ways detainees can protest unsafe conditions and demand accountability. At the same time, advocates warn that oversight of the detention system is being weakened. The recent closure of the federal detention watchdog removed a critical avenue for investigating abuse and responding to detainee complaints.
Without oversight, already bad conditions may get even worse. Detainees at Delaney Hall have reported spoiled food, overcrowding, unsanitary facilities, and inadequate medical care. Attorneys representing detainees described people sleeping on floors, lacking blankets, and struggling to access basic necessities. So far, 56 persons have died in detention centers since January 2025. At least 10 men have committed suicide according to the AP.
And now ICE is brutally cracking down on strikers. Meanwhile New Jersey state police have been arresting civilians protesting outside the detention center in solidarity with the detainees. According to one advocate,
“They know that [strikes] are inspiring people and that scares them.”
ICE moved the Delaney Hall strike organizer to another center two days after it began. Advocates say this is a common tactic at other centers where strikes have happened. They say collective action scares GEO Group. Reportedly, facility guards even taunt detainees, telling them no one cares about them or their cause to demoralize them.
But the Delaney Hall detainees are holding firm on their labor strike. And we’re standing right beside them in calling on GEO group to end to forced labor in their detention centers. Join us and stand in solidarity with the courageous Delaney Hall detainees.
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