The Stories From ICE’s Delaney Hall Are Stomach-Turning

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes

Episode: The Stories From ICE’s Delaney Hall Are Stomach-Turning

Date: June 3, 2026
Host: The Bulwark Team

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Overview of Main Theme

This episode provides a harrowing look at the conditions within Delaney Hall, an ICE detention center in Newark, NJ, operated by the GEO Group. The host draws from a Guardian column by Moira Donegan and direct testimonies, detailing the inhumane realities faced by migrant detainees, the lack of outside oversight, widespread protests, and the political and public response. The episode mixes reporting, analysis, and first-hand accounts to highlight the moral and legal crisis posed by the operation of such facilities.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Delaney Hall as a “Black Box”

• Access to the facility is tightly restricted, with very few outsiders able to verify conditions directly ([00:30]).
• Delaney Hall was described as emblematic of a larger, national ICE problem: "It's kind of a black box." ([00:30])
• Limited oversight has led to persistent, unchecked abuses, with advocacy and media efforts struggling to break through.

2. Summary of Conditions Inside Delaney Hall

• Quoting Moira Donegan’s reporting, the host outlines the situation:
  • Spoiled food, sometimes infested with maggots
  • Forced labor for about a dollar a day
  • Severe overcrowding and unsanitary conditions
  • Inadequate medical care
  • Reports of detainees being beaten and pepper sprayed ([00:40])
• Notable Quote:
  • "The food is spoiled and sometimes has maggots. Those who are imprisoned there who have not been convicted of any crime are forced to work for about a dollar a day... Those inside say they're being beaten and pepper sprayed."
    — Moira Donegan via host ([00:40])

3. Hunger Strike, Labor Strike, and Protests

• Detainees have launched labor and hunger strikes to protest conditions ([01:22]).
• Outside, a coalition of anti-ICE protesters, local police, and pro-MAGA locals have clashed, with confrontation escalating to the use of pepper spray by law enforcement ([01:50]).
• U.S. Senator Andy Kim joined the protests and described being pepper sprayed.

4. Senator Andy Kim’s Testimony

• Notable Quote:
  • "I put myself again between the agents and the crowd, and that's when they started shooting pepper balls at our feet... My throat was burning. It was something that was really painful to watch... We cannot normalize this violence in America. It should not be inevitable."
    — Sen. Andy Kim ([02:56])

5. The Politics and Media Environment

• The host highlights the divergence of narratives:
  • On one side ("Earth one"), attention is on inhumane detention conditions.
  • On the other side ("Earth two"/MAGA media), focus is on “antifa rioters” and “pro-immigrant socialist communists”.
• Immigration officials allegedly have an incentive to escalate conflict outside facilities for political purposes, fueling the right-wing media machine ([04:02]).

6. Lack of Oversight and Accountability

• Authorities have not allowed officials like New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill or health inspectors inside to review conditions ([05:10]).
• The for-profit business model provides no incentives for humane treatment; instead, cruelty serves as a deterrent under current and previous administrations.
  • Private prison industry described as a "boom industry" in the Trump era ([05:24]).

7. Homeland Security Response and Political Rhetoric

• Homeland Security figures dismiss hunger strikes as complaints over not receiving ethnic foods, minimizing detainees’ grievances ([07:47]).

• Notable Quote:

  • "They're on a hunger strike... because they want their ethnic group or their ethnic right food. Well, they can go back to the country and get whatever food they want. This isn’t Holiday Inn. We’re giving them sanitation."
    — New Secretary of Homeland Security ([07:47])

• Host sharply rebuts: this rhetoric mischaracterizes the protestors' demands and the actual conditions.

8. Testimonies from Inside

• The State of New Jersey filed suit against the GEO Group after being refused an inspection; the legal complaint includes powerful, handwritten testimony signed by hundreds of detainees.

• Notable Quote:

  • "We feel vulnerable and in a way, kidnapped, detained without justification. Not to mention that we're being tortured physically and psychologically due to the poor food resources… Our American dream is the safety and protection of our families… we trust in God and believe that justice will be done under the law of the United States of America."
    — Letter from detainees ([08:03])

• Host underscores the word “kidnapped” as being at the core of how detainees experience their detention.

9. Systemic Harms and Lack of Justification

• Many detainees followed legal processes or held temporary migrant status; now, they’re subjected to what the host describes as “psychological and physical torture” ([08:35]).
• Host condemns the lack of due process and argues these detentions serve no public safety purpose — “the cruelty is the point.”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "How's that for a fancy euphemism?" — Host, after GEO Group admits to “limited use of chemical agents” ([00:54])
• "We cannot normalize this violence in America." — Sen. Andy Kim ([03:40])
• "Earth one" vs. "Earth two" — Host uses this metaphor to highlight the split in narratives between public concern for detainees and right-wing media hype ([04:35])
• "The only boom industry is private prisons and...corrupt handouts." — Host critiques the business of detention ([05:24])
• "The cruelty here is the point." — Host referencing Adam Serwer ([08:20])
• "Kidnapped, I think, is the key word there." — Host on detainee testimony ([09:00])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:30 – 02:00: Detailing conditions at Delaney Hall; reading from Moira Donegan.
• 02:56 – 04:00: Senator Andy Kim discusses being pepper sprayed and the escalation at protests.
• 04:02 – 05:50: The media divide and official resistance to oversight; private prisons and structural cruelty.
• 07:47 – 08:15: Homeland Security commentary and host rebuttal regarding hunger strikes and food.
• 08:15 – 09:00: Detainee letter excerpts; host’s summary and condemnation.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a grim but necessary account of the suffering within Delaney Hall and similar ICE facilities, revealing a system where lack of transparency, profit motive, and political incentives combine to perpetuate abuse and deprivation. The host calls for continued reporting and public pressure, reminding listeners of the high human costs at stake.

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For further reading:

• Guardian column by Moira Donegan
• New Jersey’s legal action against GEO Group (linked in show notes)

Stay tuned for more updates and reporting from The Bulwark team.

Transcript

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[C]

All right, y', all, I've been monitoring the situation at Delaney Hall ICE facility in New Jersey and been hearing from some of you all who have as well. And look, it's kind of tough to get a read on the situation because so few people have gotten into the facility and in some ways it's kind of a black box. There's a problem at ICE facilities around the country. I know it's something I call Adrian Carrasquillo is looking into and hopefully you're going to have some more reporting on. But I did read this pretty striking Guardian column by Moira Donegan that encapsulated the best of what we do know and kind of put it together. And so I want to run through that with you to just show you how like nightmarish the situation is for the migrant detainees at Delaney hall in New Jersey. And then obviously there's then the protest situation and all the other elements are happening outside the facility. So first, here is Donegan at Delaney hall, an ICE detention camp for captured immigrants in Newark, New Jersey, operated privately by the for profit contractor GEO Group. The food is spoiled and sometimes has maggots. Those who are imprisoned there who have not been convicted of any crime are forced to work for about a dollar a day. Conditions are overcrowded and unsanitary. There is only limited and inadequate medical care. Those inside say they're being beaten and pepper sprayed. Sound familiar? The DHS has denied allegations of mistreatment, but GEO Group issued a statement last week admitting to at least one instance of physical altercation that included limited use of chemical agents. How's that for a fancy euphemism? She goes on. Immigrants inside Delaney hall have organized a labor strike and a hunger strike trying to call attention to the inhumane conditions they're being held in. And then outside immigration force members, local police and a group of pro maga locals who have gathered to show their support for the concentration camp have clashed with anti ICE protesters, including New Jersey senator Andy Kim. And those protesters have gathered there for more than a week to show their support for the striking prisoners. The protesters say they've been pepper sprayed too. And Senator Kim was one of those. Let's listen to him describe that experience with my msnow colleague, Chris Hayes.

[B]

I put myself between the ICE agents and the protesters. At some point, ICE officials said they're just going to push this convoy of vehicles through the crowd. And I told them, you cannot just plow your way through a crowd of civilians. I tried to stop it, tried to find an arrangement, but they continued on. So I put myself again between the agents and the crowd, and that's when they started shooting pepper balls at our feet as well as, you know, right past me seeing the pepper spray. I did my best to try to keep people safe, to try to de escalate and keep the crowd and the agents separate. But, you know, myself and a number of others certainly saw a God, you know, irritation in our eyes. My throat was burning. It was something that was really painful to watch. I mean, Chris, I'll tell you, like, I have to say that the ease with which it seems like violence is emerging in our streets in America, we cannot normalize this violence in America should not be easy. It should not be inevitable. And this is something that I'm worried is going to continue on in the coming days.

[C]

You know, this is similar to what we've seen at a lot of these other facilities. Did interview with protesters obviously in Minnesota and did interview with protesters outside Portland when visitor visited those here in New Orleans. And there continues to be, I think, a sense that, that at least some folks from dhs, ICBP want to escalate, want the confrontation with Senator Kim, want these sorts of things as a way to inflame. Because whereas we are here in Earth one talking about the horrible, inhumane conditions that are happening inside these detention centers over there in Earth 2. YouTube, you have all these MAGA folks doing videos that find the craziest looking person outside the detention center. And they're doing videos about the antifa rioters and the UN American pro immigrant socialist communists that are threatening the country. And so there's kind of this incentive for immigration officials, you know, within certain limits to like spur on protesters and to incite them and, and agitate them, because then if they act out in retaliation or push back, you know, then that's a video that gets sent through the MAGA information silo. So it's a, it's, it's a real big problem. Think about what's happening in these facilities together is in part, they're not letting people in. Like, they've not let Mikey Cheryl, the governor of Jersey, into the prison camp that they've got there. They've not allowed health inspectors into the prison camp. They have these in a lot of places around the country. And one of my lines in this Trump economy right now, you know, the only boom industry is private prisons and I guess, you know, corrupt handouts, insider trading. Now, we could throw in there. I used to say crypto, but I now, I guess insider trading on the prediction markets is more successful than crypto right now since bitcoin is crashing. But, you know, these, these private prisons, these private detention centers, they don't have any incentive to give humane treatment to the detainees because they're reporting the Trump administration that want the cruelty. And they are, you know, there's no sunshine, you know that there is not a lot of reporting about what's happening in there. And so, like, there's not a lot of political pressure going the other way. And a lot of times you have, you know, and then a lot of people in the detention centers that don't speak English are maybe not the most sympathetic because, you know, they came to the country illegally, though a lot of the people in these detention centers came with what they through what they thought was a legal process during the Biden era that now the Trump administration has retroactively said is not legal. But, you know, for like, that combination of reasons, there's not the spotlight on this that might cause enough backlash to get them to change their actions like, as they did in Minnesota and El Salvador. And I think that's why it's important to talk about. What we do know here is Mark Wayne bringing up this hunger strike and explaining it at the Cabinet meeting last week. And I think the fact that he is talking about this just shows you the degree to which they are happy to pick this fight. Let's watch the new Secretary of Homeland

[D]

Security as they're on a hunger strike when there was only a handful of individuals that was refusing to eat because they want their ethnic group or their ethnic right food. Well, they can go back to the country and get whatever food they want. The fact is, we're giving them the calories they want. This isn't Holiday Inn. We're giving them sanitation.

[C]

So there you go. To be clear, ethnic food is not the reason for the protesters outside or the hunger strike inside Delaney Hall. And they aren't given the sanitation that they Deserve and require. Again, these people are not criminals in any sense of the word. They're people that had transitional migrant status or temporary migrant status in the country. There's absolutely no reason for this type of holding center. If they, they could let these people live their lives. They could have a hearing with an immigration judge if eventually they decide they should be deported. I would be opposed to that. But then you would go through deportation proceedings. Give them a chance to voluntarily deport. Give them a chance to show up to some kind of. Through some standard deportation process. Okay. We could debate what the rules would be around that deportation and how to do that in a way that is efficient and respectful of our borders and our sovereignty. That would be totally okay and appropriate. You know, that would be a normal type of political debate. That's not the. That's not what this is. We're holding these people in like private sector detention camps overseen by Stephen Miller and Mark Wayne Mullen for no reason. Like, they're not a danger to society. There's no reason for us to do this. And it is. Sorry to steal from Adam Sorwer, but the cruelty here is the point. They're trying to disincentivize people. Additional point on what Mark Quaint's comments were on the sanitation, the State of New Jersey filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the GEO Group for not allowing a full inspection by the Health Department. As mentioned, the suit included these testimonials from inside the prison that are just kind of hard to read and it's extremely long. We'll put a link to it in the show notes. But I just want to read to you a little bit. It appears like it's one person writing this on like a yellow legal pad, but it's signed by several hundred of those in the detention center. We feel vulnerable and in a way, kidnapped, detained without justification. Not to mention that we're being tortured physically and psychologically due to the poor food resources provided in these detention centers. We see with deep helplessness and frustration that our due process rights and defense have been violated, disregarding benefits granted under the four Fifth and Sixth amendments of the United States Constitution. Families are being destroyed and separated where there are children, nieces and minors who are suffering a very strong psychological impact because they do not understand the situation. And in some cases they have witnessed the arrests of their relatives who have been struck by tragedy and the economic burden. Since in most cases we are the heads of the household, they close the letter like this. Our American dream is the safety and protection of our families. We're in a difficult situation. And we trust in God and believe that justice will be done under the law of the United States of America. Since it's a sovereign and constitutional country respected worldwide for upholding human rights. It's nice of them to say that. I'm not sure that is true. I think we're very disrespected worldwide right now for our disregard for human rights. But kidnapped, I think, is the key word there. People inside Delaney hall feel kidnapped and they feel in some ways, both psychologically and physically tortured. And they are essentially being kidnapped. We have the right to detain them in this camp under the law, but there's no rationale for it. There's no reason to. They should be able to be with their families. We are doing this to people who came here searching for opportunity and freedom, as so many of us had before. And the result is really tragic. So that's what we know. As I mentioned, my colleague is going to be looking into this more. We'll be monitoring what is happening in New Jersey, where there continue to be protests outside the facility and a hunger strike inside at Delaney Hall. Subscribe to the feed. Appreciate you guys all very much. We'll be talking to you again soon.