U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat described the conditions at the Newark facility as "inhumane" and vowed to shut the center down (Image: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
One woman, he said, had a lump in her breast but was still waiting on a mammogram more than a month into her detention. Another detainee was suffering from colon cancer but wasn’t receiving any treatment, The Associated Press reported.
“The bottom line is, if you are human, if you are American, you cannot support what is going on here,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, another Manhattan Democrat who toured the facility Wednesday. “They’re living in jail conditions, and none of these people are criminals.”
Homan says ICE will force-feed inmates
The lawmakers addressed protesters and family members of detainees demonstrating outside the facility’s security gate after their visits.
More than 50 people held signs saying “Stop Family Separation” and chanted “Free Them All” and other slogans. Some shouted directly at the armed and helmet-wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers standing outside, calling them “cowards” and “idiots.”
The protests began Friday and have been tense at times.
© AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin channeled the same anti-immigrant rhetoric as Trump on Wednesday, claiming that the New Jersey ICE facility detainees on hunger strike are only doing so because they want "ethnic food."
"There was only a handful of individuals that was refusing to eat because they want their ethnic group, or their ethnic-right food. Well, they can go back to their country and get whatever food they want," Mullin said during a televised Cabinet meeting. “The fact is, we’re giving them the calories they want. This isn’t Holiday Inn.”
His comments came after Democratic members of Congress who visited Delaney Hall in Newark said detainees are being given small portions of food that "very often" contain maggots. U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat described the conditions as "inhumane" and vowed to shut the center down.
Protesters have been demonstrating for days and asserting that detainees at the New Jersey facility are on a hunger strike.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat, said that the only medication they receive is Tylenol.
"There was only a handful of individuals that was refusing to eat because they want their ethnic group, or their ethnic-right food. Well, they can go back to their country and get whatever food they want," Mullin said during a televised Cabinet meeting. “The fact is, we’re giving them the calories they want. This isn’t Holiday Inn.”
His comments came after Democratic members of Congress who visited Delaney Hall in Newark said detainees are being given small portions of food that "very often" contain maggots. U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat described the conditions as "inhumane" and vowed to shut the center down.
Protesters have been demonstrating for days and asserting that detainees at the New Jersey facility are on a hunger strike.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat, said that the only medication they receive is Tylenol.
The lawmakers addressed protesters and family members of detainees demonstrating outside the facility’s security gate after their visits© Kyle Mazza/Shutterstock
One woman, he said, had a lump in her breast but was still waiting on a mammogram more than a month into her detention. Another detainee was suffering from colon cancer but wasn’t receiving any treatment, The Associated Press reported.
“The bottom line is, if you are human, if you are American, you cannot support what is going on here,” said U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, another Manhattan Democrat who toured the facility Wednesday. “They’re living in jail conditions, and none of these people are criminals.”
Homan says ICE will force-feed inmates
The lawmakers addressed protesters and family members of detainees demonstrating outside the facility’s security gate after their visits.
More than 50 people held signs saying “Stop Family Separation” and chanted “Free Them All” and other slogans. Some shouted directly at the armed and helmet-wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers standing outside, calling them “cowards” and “idiots.”
The protests began Friday and have been tense at times.
The ACLU reported hearing “horror stories” of detainees, including pregnant women, not getting the proper medical treatment for their health conditions© Getty Images
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said he was pepper-sprayed as he and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill led a delegation of Democratic officials who tried to visit detainees at Delaney Hall but were denied entry.
“Instead of engaging with me and others about the poor conditions, ICE sent in an armored vehicle and a line of armed agents that only poured gasoline on the fire,” Kim posted on social media after Monday’s clashes. “Civilians were tackled and restrained, and agents fired pepper balls and spray into the crowd.”
Gabriela Soto said Wednesday that her husband was among the detainees who participated in the hunger strike before he was transferred to another facility.
“At first it was just 300. Then it became a little bit more. Now, every single detainee inside there is participating. Every single one,” she said, wearing a black shirt that said “Abolish ICE.”
Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said his organization has heard “horror stories” of detainees, including pregnant women, not getting the proper medical treatment for their health conditions.
On Monday, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said he was pepper-sprayed as he and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill led a delegation of Democratic officials who tried to visit detainees at Delaney Hall but were denied entry.
“Instead of engaging with me and others about the poor conditions, ICE sent in an armored vehicle and a line of armed agents that only poured gasoline on the fire,” Kim posted on social media after Monday’s clashes. “Civilians were tackled and restrained, and agents fired pepper balls and spray into the crowd.”
Gabriela Soto said Wednesday that her husband was among the detainees who participated in the hunger strike before he was transferred to another facility.
“At first it was just 300. Then it became a little bit more. Now, every single detainee inside there is participating. Every single one,” she said, wearing a black shirt that said “Abolish ICE.”
Amol Sinha, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said his organization has heard “horror stories” of detainees, including pregnant women, not getting the proper medical treatment for their health conditions.
Trump defended the center’s operations and criticized opponents© Kyle Mazza/Shutterstock
“Cruelty is the point,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has denied any hunger strike, abuse or poor conditions inside the center and dismissed the criticisms as political posturing.
Trump defended the center’s operations and criticized opponents.
“We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type,” Trump said during the Cabinet meeting with Mullin. “There’s nobody that runs a facility like we do.”
In December, before the deadly immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, Trump spouted openly xenophobic comments against Somali immigrants at another televised Cabinet meeting.
"I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you. Somebody might say, 'oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care. I don't want them in our country," Trump said during an hours-long meeting. "Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks. And we don't want them in our country. I could say that about other countries, too."
“Cruelty is the point,” he said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has denied any hunger strike, abuse or poor conditions inside the center and dismissed the criticisms as political posturing.
Trump defended the center’s operations and criticized opponents.
“We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type,” Trump said during the Cabinet meeting with Mullin. “There’s nobody that runs a facility like we do.”
In December, before the deadly immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, Trump spouted openly xenophobic comments against Somali immigrants at another televised Cabinet meeting.
"I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you. Somebody might say, 'oh, that's not politically correct.' I don't care. I don't want them in our country," Trump said during an hours-long meeting. "Their country is no good for a reason. Their country stinks. And we don't want them in our country. I could say that about other countries, too."
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