5 days ago
Family members, attorneys say they can't get access to Newark ICE facility detainees
The search continues for two of the four men who escaped from an immigration detention center in Newark last week.
This comes as advocates continue to protest the conditions at Delaney Hall. Attorneys for the detainees held there are still not being allowed in.
A small group of protesters remained outside Delaney Hall Monday. They're upset over conditions inside the facility.
Attorneys of detainees say they haven't been allowed in to Delaney Hall to visit clients, and relatives say the same.
"He doesn't have any criminal history. He's a good guy."
"Like the family, it's like they destroy us. They destroy us," said Silvanea Almeida, whose husband Renato is being held there.
Almeida said she's been trying to see her husband without success. He was arrested two weeks ago at their home in Linden. Almeida said they've been in the U.S. for 25 years.
"He doesn't have any criminal history. He's a good guy. He works hard to sustain the family. And I think it's not nice they take him like they did. He's not a criminal," Almeida said.
Relatives and attorneys say they're being told very little about the detainees. Some say they don't know for sure if their loved ones are still being held there, or if they have been moved.
Tensions boiled over
Tensions boiled over last week. Relatives of detainees say fights broke out inside after complaints of overcrowding, and scarce meals.
"It gives you an indication of how shoddy the operations are, how inhumane the operations are. I mean, the most basic things are food and water. People aren't getting food or water," Kathy O'Leary of Pax Christi New Jersey said.
The 1,000-bed facility is privately owned, and advocates say basic human rights are not prioritized.
"The more money they can save by not giving the right amount of food, denying medicine, medical treatment, they're saving themselves a lot of money," community organizer Carlos Castaneda said.
Last week, Homeland Security pushed back on reports of worsening conditions and lack of access to services for detainees, saying "contrary to current reporting, there has been no widespread unrest at the Delaney Hall detention facility."
Manhunt for escaped detainees
Meanwhile, the search continues for two of the four men who escaped. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrests of Franklin Norberto Bautista Reyes, 20, and Andres Felipe Pineda Mogollon, 25.
Reyes had previously been arrested on aggravated assault and weapons, the FBI said. Mogollon was arrested on larceny and burglary charges, according to the agency.
Anyone with information is asked to call the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement tip line at 1-866-347-2423.
The other two who had escaped have since been taken back into custody.
