Statement

NJPP Responds to Arrest of Mayor Ras Baraka

Oversight and transparency in public policy — especially when human lives are at stake — should never be met with obstruction or criminalization.

By

Published on May 9, 2025 in Immigrants' Rights

This afternoon, federal agents arrested Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka outside of Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Joined by U.S. Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Robert Menendez Jr., Mayor Baraka was attempting to join a facility tour of Delaney Hall to investigate conditions within the detention center, amid concerns about the treatment of detainees. 

Delaney Hall is operated by the private prison corporation GEOGroup under a long-term federal contract with ICE. The facility reopened earlier this year without securing required local permits, safety inspections, or a certificate of occupancy — actions that city officials argue violate local and state law. In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) releases the following statement.

Nicole Rodriguez, President, NJPP:

“NJPP is profoundly alarmed over Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest. This incident underscores longstanding concerns about the privatization of immigration enforcement and the dangerous lack of accountability that comes with it.

“Oversight and transparency in public policy — especially when human lives are at stake — should never be met with obstruction or criminalization.

“Decades of research and investigative reporting have shown that privately run detention centers, driven by profit, often cut corners on safety and care, leading to widespread reports of medical neglect, dangerous conditions, and coercive labor practices. Privatization removes key tools for elected officials and communities to ensure accountability and uphold basic standards of care.

“NJPP calls for a full, independent investigation into Mayor Baraka’s arrest and the legal status of Delaney Hall’s operations. No facility should be allowed to operate without full transparency, oversight, and compliance with public safety and health standards. We also urge federal lawmakers to respect New Jersey’s existing ban on private immigration detention facilities.

“As a nonpartisan, research-driven organization, NJPP stands firmly for humane, just, and transparent immigration policies that uphold the dignity and rights of all New Jersey residents.”

Read our statement on Delaney Hall’s opening.

Read more about immigrant detention in New Jersey.

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Author

  • Nicole Rodriguez, Research Director, is an experienced public policy advocate who researches and advocates for state policy solutions that centers the needs of communities. She is skilled in policy analysis, research, writing, communication, and nonprofit organization and management. Her research interests include labor and economic policy at the intersection of work and family.

    Before joining New Jersey Policy Perspective, Nicole was a Senior Researcher at Community Labor United (CLU), an organization that brings together community and labor partners to speak in one voice on issues that impact working-class families throughout Greater Boston. Specifically, Nicole drove strategic campaigns forward with rigorous research and leadership that stabilize and strengthen low-income families and communities of color.Prior to that, Nicole worked as a Senior Policy Analyst at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, an independent research organization that produces non-partisan policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state’s economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. Nicole has authored numerous reports focusing on family economic security and the state budget.

    She has also worked for foundations, non-profits, and state and local governments in Massachusetts. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science from Villanova University.

    Email: rodriguez (at) njpp.org | Phone: 609-393-1145 ext. 18
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