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The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) categorically rejected this week the allegations of a hunger strike at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, deeming the accusations irresponsible and supporting their position with internal sales data and an official health inspection.
The DHS posted on its official account on X that health inspectors from the state of New Jersey visited Delaney Hall last week and found "not a single violation," comparing the conditions of the facility favorably with those of the state prison system.
Tom Homan, the so-called "border czar" of President Trump, went further and claimed to have made an unexpected visit to the facility to eat the same food as the detainees.
"I had spaghetti with meat sauce, green beans, bread and rolls, drinks, and dessert. The food was good; it was all a false premise. There was never a hunger strike," Homan stated.
The official added that the detainees were not eating in the cafeteria because they were buying food from the precinct: “They may not be eating in the cafeteria, but what I found out is that they are ordering food from the precinct and eating it in their cells.”
This version is backed by sales data obtained by The Daily Wire: purchases at Delaney Hall's commissary increased 161%, from $11,498 on May 26 to $30,013 on June 1, while the population of detainees decreased from 724 to 621 people in that same period.
Scott Mechkowski, former deputy director of the ICE Field Office in New York, was emphatic: "I have seen real hunger strikes during my time as an ICE official. What is happening at Delaney Hall is not a hunger strike."
"When the detainees are buying Honey Buns and Snickers bars, and those with money are helping others get snacks, that's not a hunger strike; it's just a publicity stunt," Mechkowski added.
The dispute began on May 22, when immigrant advocates announced that around 300 detainees had started a hunger and work strike, citing inhumane conditions: lack of air conditioning, spoiled food, and inadequate medical care.
Democratic representative Jerry Nadler went so far as to claim that there were worms in the food, an accusation that federal authorities outright dismissed.
The DHS is not unfamiliar with these types of controversies: in August 2025, it also denied hunger strikes at the Alligator Alcatraz center, in Florida, categorizing those reports as "fake news."
Delaney Hall is operated by GEO Group under a 15-year contract with ICE valued at nearly one billion dollars.
The Democratic mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, expanded an existing lawsuit against GEO Group and established a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. around downtown, stating that the facility "should be closed for health and human safety reasons."
The state of New Jersey also filed a separate lawsuit against GEO Group last Monday, accusing the company of denying access to state health inspectors on May 28, allowing them to only review the food service area.
The DHS, for its part, insisted that "all detainees receive adequate meals, quality water, blankets, medical care, and have opportunities to communicate with their families and lawyers," ruling out any concessions in light of the complaints.
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