For the Second Time, GEO Group Limits Access at Delaney Hall

TRENTON - Governor Mikie Sherrill, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, and Department of Health (DOH) Commissioner Raynard E. Washington today are providing the following update after health inspectors were not allowed to conduct a full inspection of Delaney Hall, the immigration detention center operated by the GEO Group, Inc., in Newark, and were allowed entry only to see limited parts of the facility.

"Today, my health inspectors were once again denied full access to Delaney Hall, including the medical unit. This is unacceptable and continues to raise serious questions about what DHS and the GEO Group are hiding at Delaney Hall," said Governor Sherrill. "I have long opposed private detention facilities and will continue doing everything I can to secure a full inspection and improve conditions for detainees and their families."

"Over the last few months, we've heard numerous troubling reports of unsanitary conditions, rotten food, substandard medical care, and even a reported case of tuberculosis at Delaney Hall. GEO Group's refusal to allow health inspectors to conduct a full inspection of the facility raises a simple question: What are they trying to hide?" said Attorney General Davenport. "The people detained inside Delaney Hall must be treated with dignity. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that our health inspectors can conduct a complete inspection of Delaney Hall."

"As I have said previously, health inspections are not political. If GEO Group has nothing to hide, they should allow full access to our team to conduct a complete health and safety inspection and not merely a tour of the facility," said Health Commissioner Washington. "I continue to be worried about the spread of disease and other health risks inside and outside Delaney Hall. Unsanitary conditions impact detainees and facility staff alike, and communicable diseases are not confined by the walls, locks, or doors of any facility. They can spread to staff and visitors, who may then carry infections into the broader community. I am grateful to the Governor and the Attorney General for taking this seriously."

On Wednesday, health inspectors arrived at Delaney Hall for an inspection that was scheduled ahead of time, as GEO Group has previously requested. However, once inside, they were not allowed to conduct an actual health inspection and were instead taken only on a limited tour of the detention facility.

Delaney Hall is the focus of well-documented concerns about inhumane and unsanitary conditions for detainees, including reports of a lack of medical care. Detainees have told relatives and advocacy groups that the water tasted metallic and is undrinkable; that people were being denied medical care or necessary medications; and that diseases such as the flu or COVID-19 were spreading throughout the facility. In late May, the Department received a report about a detainee taken to University Hospital with tuberculosis, a highly infectious disease.

On June 2, New Jersey filed a lawsuit alleging that GEO Group has violated state law by refusing to allow DOH to conduct a full inspection of Delaney Hall. The lawsuit was filed after DOH inspectors were barred from inspecting crucial areas of the facility on May 28. During that first visit, inspectors were allowed inside Delaney Hall for a limited inspection of food service areas. But they were not allowed to visit the medical unit, toileting and shower facilities, and sleeping areas, and they could not inspect ventilation and HVAC systems.

By statute, the DOH Commissioner is allowed to enter and inspect public and private detention centers as well as to have "full access" to any premises if there is any reason to believe a public health violation may be occurring. DOH is responsible for protecting the health of the people of New Jersey, including identifying any practices that would allow for the unchecked spread of communicable illnesses, including but not limited to unsafe food preparation or storage, inadequate ventilation, and other unhygienic conditions.

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