FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 29, 2026
Contact: Ivonne Salazar, Chief of Staff, 973-482-8312 x 1517
Statement from La Casa De Don Pedro on the Delaney Hall Detention Center
Newark, NJ – La Casa de Don Pedro stands firmly with Newark’s immigrant community in demanding dignity, transparency, and humane treatment for all people held at the Delaney Hall detention center. This is not the first time we have been called to speak. It will not be the last.
The conditions reported inside Delaney Hall are unconscionable. Members of Congress who visited the facility described detainees as being denied adequate food, sanitary supplies, and basic medical care, including a pregnant woman reportedly denied full obstetric care. Inside, detainees launched a hunger and labor strike to protest those conditions in the only way available to them. These are not abstractions. These are human beings, our neighbors, our community members, and the families we serve every day.
We urgently call for the immediate release of pregnant women, the medically vulnerable, and elderly detainees at Delaney Hall. Detaining vulnerable individuals under conditions that Congress members have called inhumane is unacceptable and represents a moral failure demanding swift action. Pregnant women must receive obstetric care, and elderly detainees must have access to adequate medical services without delay. Additionally, all detainees should be able to communicate freely with their loved ones. Families, including children, spouses, and parents, are left without information, contact, or certainty, which is cruel and must stop now. Communication with loved ones is a fundamental human right, not a privilege.
We support every person’s right to peacefully protest injustice. Those who stand outside Delaney Hall night after night advocate for people who cannot speak for themselves. That is a tradition as American and as Newark as any other. We honor their courage.
We also call on everyone present, including law enforcement, federal agents, and protestors, to ensure that no one else is harmed. The safety of every person on both sides of that gate matters. Escalating violence serves no one and risks diverting attention from the urgent need for accountability. The people suffering inside Delaney Hall must remain the center of this moment, not the chaos outside it.
For nearly 55 years, La Casa de Don Pedro has stood alongside immigrant families through raids, policy attacks, funding cuts, and moments of fear most Americans never have to imagine. When the federal government eliminated funding for citizenship preparation programs, we spoke out. When ICE raided our neighborhoods, we stood at a press conference and said clearly: we are not going anywhere. When elected officials were blocked from entering Delaney Hall to perform their constitutionally mandated oversight duties, we raised our voices. Today, we do the same. Newark has always been a city that fights for its people. La Casa de Don Pedro has always been part of that fight. We are not stepping back now.
“We are witnessing the erosion of our neighbors’ rights. Every person detained at Delaney Hall deserves to speak with their family and to receive humane treatment. We stand with those demanding accountability and will not be silent until it is delivered,” says Peter T. Rosario, President & CEO of La Casa de Don Pedro.
La Casa de Don Pedro has served Newark and Essex County for more than 55 years, providing legal immigration services, family support, mental health care, workforce development, and community advocacy. Learn more at lacasadedonpedro.org.
Picture Source: TIME: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and pro-immigration activists face off outside the Delaney Hall migrant detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 25, 2026.Andrew Lichtenstein—Corbis/Getty Images
