CAPAC Demands Accountability Following ICE Response at Delaney Hall Facility

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Grace Meng, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, issued the following statement regarding conditions at the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, and the pepper spraying of U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents:

“Members of Congress have a constitutional right and a duty to conduct oversight of federal detention facilities, particularly when lives are at stake. Over the past several days, members of the New Jersey congressional delegation visited the Delaney Hall detention facility and heard disturbing accounts from detained individuals and their families, including reports of inedible food, denial of medical care, and barriers to due process.

“During one of these visits, ICE deployed an armored vehicle and a line of armed agents who tackled civilians and fired pepper balls and pepper spray into the crowd—including at CAPAC Executive Member Senator Andy Kim. It is a disgrace and an abuse of power that should alarm every American. If this is how ICE responds to elected officials, it raises grave concerns about how detainees are being treated behind closed doors.

“These inspections are more important than ever amid mounting reports of abuse and civil rights violations in federal detention centers. CAPAC members will not be intimidated, and will continue exercising our oversight authority to demand accountability from this lawless agency.”

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