Mayor of Newark Arrested in Immigration Protest

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested yesterday after joining members of Congress and community leaders in protesting the opening of Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in New Jersey operated by the GEO Group. Baraka, who is running for Governor of New Jersey, had joined the protesters to raise alarm about the facility’s role in the mass deportation campaign destabilizing communities.

Statement from Kerri Talbot, Co-Executive Director of the Immigration Hub:

“First they arrested a sitting judge. Now they’ve arrested a sitting mayor—all while Stephen Miller openly floats suspending habeas corpus. That means giving themselves the power to detain people indefinitely, with no accountability, no consequence, and no basic legal protections.

Mayor Baraka was standing with his community, demanding answers about a billion-dollar detention deal that’s already tearing families apart. For that, he was treated like a threat.

The American people need to understand what’s unfolding: this isn’t isolated—it’s the playbook. Trump’s allies are testing the limits of authoritarianism in broad daylight. We see it. We won’t be intimidated. And we won’t stop fighting back.”

I attended an immigration conference at Rutgers Law School in April at which Mayor Baraka offered thoughtful opening remarks.  He offered thoughtful comments and I enjoyed meeting him.

KJ