Delaney Hall Hunger Strike Enters Third Week — 300+ Detainees Refuse Food and Labor as NJ AG Lawsuit Against GEO Group Advances and Trump Admin Denies Strike Exists

As of June 7, 2026, the hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey — operated by GEO Group — was entering its third consecutive week, with over 300 detainees refusing food and participating in a work stoppage to protest conditions including spoiled and maggot-infested food, lack of medical care, overcrowded cells without air conditioning, and allegations of guard violence including beatings and pepper spray. The Trump administration publicly denied a hunger strike was occurring at the facility. Detainees reported retaliation including transfers to other facilities — a common ICE tactic — which advocates said was designed to break strike solidarity by separating participants. The New Jersey Attorney General's lawsuit against GEO Group, filed June 2 demanding state health inspector access after the company had blocked a prior inspection, remained active. The Human Rights Watch report published June 3 documenting abysmal conditions at the facility had drawn international attention. Mayor Ras Baraka's curfew around Doremus Avenue — the access road to Delaney Hall — remained in effect for protesters. GEO Group's annual profits surged approximately 700% in 2025 (from $32 million to approximately $254 million) as ICE detention expanded, and Acting ICE Director David Venturella — who took office June 1 — was formerly a senior government affairs executive at GEO Group, the direct operator of Delaney Hall and one of ICE's primary contractors.