Mayor Baraka Of Newark, New Jersey, Arrested At Immigration Detention Center He Has Been Protesting

Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark speaks to the press near ICE agents at a demonstration outside an immigrant detention centre in Elizabeth, New Jersey May 7, 2025. The Mayor arrived at the gates of Delaney Hall to inspect the previously vacant prison that is being converted into an immigrant detention center. Delaney Hall has the ability to hold over a 1000 people, and the detention facility, privately owned by The GEO Group, holds a contract with the federal government to house people arrested by ICE. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, has been arrested at a federal immigration detention center where he has been protesting its opening this week. A federal prosecutor says on the social platform X that Ras Baraka committed trespass Friday and ignored warnings to leave the Delaney Hall facility. Witnesses say Baraka tried to enter the center with three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation who arrived unannounced to inspect it. They say he was arrested after returning to public property. Baraka has protested the construction and opening of the 1,000-bed detention center, including filing a lawsuit challenging its permits. The facility is run by a private operator.