Ariadna Zumba’s – An 18-year-old high school senior, Ariadna Zumba, was released from the Delaney Hall immigration jail in Newark after nearly two months—just days after New Jersey state police in riot gear launched tear gas at protesters. Her release, tied to a status that sho
For weeks, the fight outside Delaney Hall in Newark has looked like a standoff between two realities: what protesters say is happening inside the immigration jail, and what federal officials insist is being misrepresented.
Over the weekend. New Jersey state police in riot gear launched tear gas at protesters. part of an aggressive response to demonstrations in support of an ongoing hunger strike inside the facility. On Monday. the crowd got a moment that organizers could hold up like proof—an 18-year-old high school senior. Ariadna Zumba. who had missed prom and graduation because she was behind bars. was finally released.
Her attorney, Sterling Santamaria, said Zumba had spent nearly two months in Delaney Hall despite having no criminal record. He said she was approved for special immigrant juvenile status. a category for vulnerable young people that can provide a pathway to permanent residency—and that this should have protected her from an immigration arrest. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to questions about why Zumba was arrested.
Zumba’s mother was outside the facility when she was released. Her words carried the exact mix of hope and warning that has defined these protests: “Raise your voice, I know that you can.” Then, to her daughter: “Here is proof that it is possible … don’t give up.”
The celebration was real, but it didn’t end the larger struggle. Delaney Hall. operated by private prison giant GEO Group. has become a central flashpoint in the Trump administration’s mass detention immigration agenda. where state and federal law enforcement have clashed with protesters on the ground.
Hundreds of detainees, including Zumba, have reportedly taken part in a hunger and labor strike that began May 22. They say conditions are “abhorrent.” A series of letters signed by hundreds of detainees described medical neglect. legal abuses. and monthslong detentions—even for people who have opted to accept voluntary deportation. The strikers are demanding release from detention and are especially pushing for the release of elderly. young and medically vulnerable detainees.
Their demands also include a meeting with Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D). The governor has not met with detainees yet. A spokesperson for Sherrill said she “shares the goal of meeting with the detainees,” but that she was denied entry by the facility when she attempted to visit.
Protesters and detainee advocates say another core issue is the coercive push to sign voluntary deportation papers. They describe it as a common practice in immigration custody in which ICE agents leverage the misery of detention to pressure people to give up their legal fight to stay in the country.
The confrontation has spilled onto the street in ways that have left residents bracing for the next escalation. Hundreds of protesters have flocked to Delaney Hall in recent weeks. Federal agents fought back, using chemical irritants and allegedly targeting members of the media.
“It was getting really dicey,” said Sister Susan Francois, a sister of St. Joseph of Peace and a member of the Eyes on ICE New Jersey Coalition. Francois said tear gas contaminated supplies in a mutual aid tent that had been set up outside Delaney Hall for months.
On Friday. Sherrill called in New Jersey state police to replace federal agents in dealing with protesters—a move the Trump administration counted as a win. State police deployed tear gas and kettled protesters who defied Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s curfew for the area. Dozens were ultimately arrested on Sunday. Baraka said city police will exercise “a greater span of control” around the detention facility. meaning state police could take a backseat when it comes to crowd control. He said he planned to lift the curfew either Tuesday or Wednesday night.
Even as the street protests intensified, volunteers focused on what has been one of the few lifelines near the facility. Mutual aid has been a significant part of local pushback to what volunteers say is happening inside Delaney Hall. Since last year. volunteers have run an aid tent providing food. children’s toys and clothes that meet Delaney Hall’s dress code to detainees’ visiting families. They’ve also helped released detainees contact family and arrange to be picked up in the remote industrial area.
On Monday, volunteers said they found the aid tent ransacked, appearing to have been searched by the FBI and ICE. Pax Christi New Jersey—one of the key contributors to the mutual aid efforts—posted on Instagram that the “radical hospitality tent was trashed. ” and noted that federal agents were spotted in the tent on Sunday. Volunteers. including detainees’ family members. continued working to keep mutual aid going. even with an overwhelming police response that includes checkpoints near the facility. The FBI declined to comment.
Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, offered a blunt counter to the mounting allegations. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. in an email. said: “Our ICE operations continue undeterred — now tent free.” The spokesperson added: “Another day. another hoax about ICE. ” denying altogether that there is a hunger strike at Delaney Hall and asserting. “No detainees are being beaten or abused.”.
The dispute has also entered courtrooms and city plans. New Jersey’s health commissioner filed suit against Delaney Hall on Tuesday. saying it had allowed only “severely limited” access to state health inspectors. The city of Newark has hinted at similar action. And with protesters pressing for more access to detainees and more scrutiny inside the facility. attention is turning to whether state and local pressure can force changes faster than federal denials.
For organizers, the central question isn’t only what happens next outside the fence. It’s what happens to people once they’re inside.
“What’s happening,” said Francois, describing the protest campaign as grounded in a moral demand, not a political slogan. Organizers intended “to stand for humanity. against cruelty for profit.” She said. “The mission is to close down Delaney Hall. to respect the human rights that all human beings have — no matter what their legal status is. ” and that they’re “seeking a humane response to something that is as close to evil as I’ve ever seen.”.
Delaney Hall Newark ICE GEO Group Ariadna Zumba special immigrant juvenile status Mikie Sherrill Ras Baraka hunger strike mutual aid tent tear gas New Jersey state police voluntary deportation papers