Delaney Hall hunger strike over, report says

🍽️ Immigration advocates say detainees at Delaney Hall have ended a weeks-long hunger strike involving more than 300 people.
🏛️ Homeland Security continues to deny any hunger strike occurred and says conditions at the facility exceed those in many NJ prisons.
⚖️ Advocates claim some participants were transferred to other detention centers after joining the protest.

Advocates say Delaney Hall hunger strike has ended as DHS continues to deny it ever happened

A hunger strike that drew national attention to the ICE detention facility at Delaney Hall in Newark has reportedly come to an end, though federal officials continue to dispute that the protest ever occurred.

According to reporting by NJ Monitor, immigrant-rights advocates say detainees ended the strike after weeks of refusing meals to protest conditions inside the facility. At its peak, advocates claimed more than 300 detainees were participating in the action.

The strike helped fuel demonstrations outside Delaney Hall and intensified an already heated political debate over immigration enforcement and detention conditions in New Jersey.

New Jersey is increasing immigrant legal defense funding to more than $20 million. (Getty images/Governor's Office)

Homeland Security disputes hunger strike claims

Despite widespread reports from advocacy groups and detainees, the Department of Homeland Security has consistently denied that a hunger strike took place at Delaney Hall.

Federal officials have maintained that detainees have access to food, medical care and other services, and have defended conditions inside the facility.

DHS officials have repeatedly argued that conditions at Delaney Hall are better than those found in many New Jersey correctional facilities. The agency has rejected allegations of mistreatment and has characterized claims from advocacy groups as inaccurate.

The detention center has become a flashpoint in the broader national immigration debate. Ongoing and often violent protests have drawn many out of state agitators to Newark to participate in demonstrations.

Protesters lie on the ground as law enforcement officers kettle protesters outside Delaney Hall detention center Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Newark, N.J.

Advocates cite intimidation and detainee transfers

Advocacy groups say detainees ended the hunger strike because of pressure from facility staff.

Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, told NJ Monitor that participants feared retaliation and that some detainees who joined the protest were transferred to other facilities.

Torres and other advocates contend the transfers were connected to participation in the strike, though federal officials have not publicly acknowledged any such connection.

The reports could not be independently verified, and DHS has continued to deny that a hunger strike occurred.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom