New Jersey’s attorney general’s office launched an investigation on Friday into potential civil rights violations at Newark’s Delaney Hall immigration detention center, following three detainee deaths in under twelve months and reports of alarming conditions.
The probe will examine whether any actions or omissions by employees of GEO Group—which manages the facility—violated the civil rights of detainees, according to the Division of Civil Rights, which sent the first subpoenas on Friday in light of reports about recent deaths and dangerous conditions.
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Detainees at Delaney had denounced medical neglect, food shortages, and generally inhumane conditions, which prompted a strike between May and June. Following the protest, the private management company began transferring inmates to other detention centers across the country, with the strike ending mainly due to fears of retaliation, isolation, and forced transfers.
The three fatalities recorded include Haitian national Jean Wilson Brutus in December, Salvadoran Edwin López Cornejo last weekend, and an unidentified immigrant who died in late July.
Attorney Jennifer Davenport stated that New Jersey has a legal and moral duty to uphold civil rights for detained individuals, including those in private custody, adding that those rights include the right to humane treatment and adequate medical care. She underscored that if violations are found, her office will initiate civil enforcement actions under state law, and urged individuals to share their personal experiences so that protective measures can be taken.
Statement from Attorney General Jennifer Davenport on Opening Investigation into the Practices and Operations of Delaney Hall Operator GEO Group.
Read more here: https://t.co/fuOOJN37Wc pic.twitter.com/HEQedVkvon
— Attorney General Jennifer Davenport (@NewJerseyOAG) August 7, 2026
Davenport also recalled that this investigation is proceeding amid litigation between the New Jersey Department of Health and GEO Group, after the attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit in June to obtain an order compelling the company to grant state authorities access to Delaney Hall for health inspections, according to Davenport.
The ICE facility, with a capacity of more than 1,000 detainees, is operated under a 15-year contract valued at $1 billion by The GEO Group corporation. The center previously housed immigrants between 2011 and 2017 and reopened a year ago, officials stated.
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