Rep. LaMonica McIver returned to Delaney Hall with Reps. Rob Menendez and Yvette Clarke to push for the GEO Group–run facility’s closure after the death of 41-year-old detainee Jean Wilson Brutus. Lawmakers raised concerns about near-capacity populations, medical care, food and staffing, and cited prior unrest. ICE says an investigation is underway, attributes the death to suspected natural causes and disputes claims of understaffing.
Rep. LaMonica McIver Returns to Delaney Hall, Urges Closure After Detainee's Death
NEWARK, New Jersey — More than six months after a tense oversight visit that resulted in federal assault charges, Rep. LaMonica McIver returned to Delaney Hall with colleagues to press for the facility’s closure following the recent death of a detainee.
Follow-Up Visit and Context
On Tuesday, McIver joined Reps. Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) for a follow-up inspection of Delaney Hall, a private immigration detention facility operated by GEO Group. The visit came days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old man from Haiti, died one day after being taken into ICE custody.
May Confrontation and Ongoing Case
This was McIver's first return since a May oversight attempt that devolved into a high-profile confrontation. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested during that earlier event, and McIver was charged with assaulting law enforcement officers; Baraka’s charge was dismissed, and McIver has pleaded not guilty, calling the prosecution "political intimidation." Her case has not yet gone to trial.
Lawmakers' Concerns
McIver, a first-term congresswoman whose district includes Newark, said she felt she had been the one assaulted during the earlier encounter and described returning to Delaney Hall as "traumatic." She reiterated her call for the facility to be closed.
"We're going to continue to say that this facility should not be open," McIver said. "When we left out of there, a detainee told us, 'This is not the America that we dreamed of.'"
Rep. Menendez said the facility is nearing capacity, estimating about 952 detainees are held under a contract that can house up to 1,000 people. He and other lawmakers raised alarms about staffing levels, inadequate medical care and poor food conditions, and quoted detainees who described the site as a "slaughterhouse." Earlier this year, four detainees reportedly escaped amid unrest at the facility.
ICE Response and Investigation
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin disputed claims that Delaney Hall is understaffed, calling those assertions "false." In a statement she noted that detainees receive health screenings within 12 hours of arrival, a follow-up check, and access to 24-hour emergency care. McLaughlin added that ICE facilities are regularly audited to ensure compliance with national detention standards and defended the quality of care provided.
ICE said an investigation into Brutus’s death is underway and that the death is from "suspected natural causes." Lawmakers said they pressed officials for more details during Tuesday's visit but were told the inquiry is ongoing.
Political and Local Reaction
Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, highlighted a recent cluster of deaths in ICE custody and said the incident should not be treated as isolated. Rep. Menendez connected the concerns at Delaney Hall to broader criticisms of for-profit detention, and Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill reiterated her longstanding opposition to privately run immigration detention centers, saying they "do not make us safer."
The renewed scrutiny of Delaney Hall has intensified local and national debate about immigration policy, private prison contracts, and oversight of detention conditions.
