The Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, has emerged as a major flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement and the treatment of detainees. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has routinely been posting the mugshots and criminal histories of detainees at the facility.
Furthermore, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed on social media that the government is “getting murderers, pedophiles, rapists, and gang members off of New Jersey streets.”However, ICE’s own internal data paints a starkly different picture. According to a detailed analysis by Gothamist—based on records obtained through a public records request by the academic research group the Deportation Data Project—the vast majority of people inside Delaney Hall have no criminal record.
Amidst these revelations, detainees have recently launched a labor and hunger strike to protest their conditions.Criminal History: Government Claims vs. Actual StatisticsBetween May 1, 2025, when the privately run facility reopened as an ICE detention center, and March 10, 2026, more than 10,300 people passed through Delaney Hall. An analysis of the data reveals:No Criminal History: The vast majority—more than 70%—of the detainees at Delaney Hall have absolutely no criminal history.Criminal Convictions: Only 12% of the detainees have prior criminal convictions.Pending Charges: The remaining 18% have pending criminal charges that have yet to be adjudicated in court.In comparison, nationwide data shows that 43% of ICE detainees have no criminal history, meaning Delaney Hall holds a significantly higher concentration of non-criminal detainees than the national average.Demographic Profile of Delaney Hall DetaineesAs of March 10, 2026, the average daily population at the 1,000-bed facility hovered at 845. The demographic breakdown of the detainees is as follows:Detainee DemographicsDelaney Hall Percentage (%)Nationwide ICE Percentage (%)Men born in Latin America & the Caribbean75%65.9%Women born in Latin America & the Caribbean6.9%9.3%Men born in Sub-Saharan Africa5.2%5.6%The remaining subsets consist primarily of male immigrants from other regions of the world.Arrest Locations and Deportation PipelineMainly Arrested in NJ: The majority of those held at the facility—63.2%—were arrested in New Jersey (under what ICE defines as the Newark area of responsibility). Roughly another third were apprehended in the New York City area, including the five boroughs, Long Island, and several upstate counties.Transferred South Before Deportation: Out of the 10,300+ immigrants who entered Delaney Hall, nearly 60% were not deported directly; instead, they were transferred to other ICE facilities, mostly located in the Southern United States, prior to expulsion.Current Status: As of March 10, approximately 22% remained in ICE custody, 9% were released into the country through various legal channels, 5% chose to “self-deport” voluntarily, and only 3% were deported directly from Delaney Hall without a transfer.”These aren’t criminals. They don’t have no charges. The only thing they did was come into this country looking for a better future.”— Tatiana Barrera, whose husband was detained at Delaney Hall while applying for a U visa (a visa reserved specifically for victims of crimes).Citing this internal data, several New York and New Jersey officials, including members of Congress, have joined families of the detained to call for the immediate closure of the Delaney Hall facility.
