'This Is Not Normal': Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at Contested ICE Detention Facility

Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday afternoon at a newly reopened immigrant detention facility in New Jersey's largest city.

Baraka was accompanying three of the state's congressional Democrats to Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility operated by the private prison company the GEO Group.

The 1,196-bed facility—the first immigrant detention center to open since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office in January after campaigning on mass deportations—began housing detainees on May 1, despite an ongoing legal battle over its operation.

Video footage posted online shows a verbal altercation between Baraka—who is running for governor and has been critical of ICE action under Trump—and men in blue jackets labeled "police."

According toPIX11:

Witnesses said the arrest came after Baraka attempted to join a scheduled tour of the facility with three members of New Jersey's congressional delegation, Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

When federal officials blocked his entry, a heated argument broke out, according to Viri Martinez, an activist with the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. It continued even after Baraka returned to the public side of the gates.

"There was yelling and pushing," Martinez said. "Then the officers swarmed Baraka. They threw one of the organizers to the ground. They put Baraka handcuffs and put him in an unmarked car."

Amanda Lee, a journalist with New Jersey's News 12, posted footage of the crowd near the gate and the mayor being led away in handcuffs.

Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, said on social media that Baraka "committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon. He has willingly chosen to disregard the law. That will not stand in this state. He has been taken into custody. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW."

Baraka's office told PIX11 that the mayor was taken to an ICE field office at 620 Frelinghuysen Ave. in Newark, adding that "we are actively monitoring and will provide more details as they become available."

The members of Congress explained on social media that they were at the facility to conduct oversight. As Watson Coleman put it: "We're at Delaney Hall, an ICE prison in Newark that opened without permission from the city and in violation of local ordinances. We've heard stories of what it's like in other ICE prisons. We're exercising our oversight authority to see for ourselves."

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement that did not address Baraka's arrested but said that "as a bus of detainees was entering the security gate of Delaney Hall Detention Center, a group of protestors, including two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility," naming Menendez and Watson Coleman.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that "members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond a bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk. Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility. This is an evolving situation."

The department also claimed that "the allegations made by Newark politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting are false. We have valid permits, and inspections for plumbing and electricity, and fire codes have been cleared."

Watson Coleman shared a lengthy response on social media, saying in part: "Contrary to a press statement put out by DHS we did not 'storm' the detention center. The author of that press release was so unfamiliar with the facts on the ground that they didn't even correctly count the number of representatives present. We were exercising our legal oversight function as we have done at the Elizabeth Detention Center without incident."

Responding to the news of Baraka's arrest on social media Friday, Kat Abughazaleh, a Democratic congressional candidate in Illinois, said in all caps: "They are arresting elected officials for peacefully opposing the regime's illegal actions. Do not allow them to overwhelm you. This is not normal."

Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement that "Mayor Baraka's arrest during an oversight visit to an ICE facility in Newark is shocking overreach of power, even by Trump standards."

"Trump and his cronies are pulling straight from the authoritarian playbook. They want to silence anyone who seeks to hold them accountable," he added. "Mayor Baraka must be released immediately, and New Jersey elected officials must be allowed inside the Delaney Hall ICE facility."

ACLU of New Jersey executive director Amol Sinha similarly condemned Baraka's arrest as "a shameful escalation of the Trump administration's intimidation campaign against officials who refuse to do their bidding."

"Mayor Baraka—and lawmakers across New Jersey and the country—are being targeted by the Trump administration for refusing to be complicit with its ongoing violations of due process," said Sinha. "Mayor Baraka must be immediately released from custody, and the Trump administration must end its assault on the fundamental rights at the core of our democracy."

The group Indivisible declared his arrest "a warning sign of just how far Trump and his allies are willing to go to silence dissent," and "authoritarian behavior, plain and simple."

"For months, Trump has been using ICE as a political weapon, targeting immigrants, communities of color, and students exercising their right to free speech," Indivisible noted. "Now, it's being used to intimidate elected officials who dare to speak out. That should alarm everyone."

"Mayor Baraka was peacefully demanding answers on dangerous policies that hurt his community. He was being a leader. We demand the immediate release of Mayor Baraka, and an end to these unlawful and unconstitutional detainments. We won't be intimidated or silenced," the group added. "We stand with Mayor Baraka and every brave leader who refuses to back down, and call on every other elected leader to follow his courageous example."