SUNDAY WATCH: As Trump Tries to Funnel Billions to an Un-Checked ICE, Senator Kim Demands Justice at Delaney Hall

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This morning on CNN’s State of the Union , Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) continued to press the urgency of ending the unsafe conditions and unjust treatment of detainees at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey. As the Senate prepares to vote this week on Trump’s plan to give billions more of taxpayer dollars to ICE, Senator Kim demanded Congress focus on what is at stake in letting ICE continue to operate without reform or accountability, and allow private-detention centers like Delaney Hall to continue profiting off of cruelty. WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW Last week, Senator Kim returned to Delaney Hall for congressional oversight visits and witnessed the inhumane treatment of detainees inside the for-profit facility, run by the private company GEO Group, and the use of escalatory tactics by ICE agents on the ground. The visits followed reports of ICE retaliating against those detained inside the facility and hundreds beginning a hunger and labor strike in protest of the inhumane conditions. WATCH: Senator Kim made clear the focus must remain on what’s at stake for the detainees living in such inhumane conditions and their loved ones. Referencing the detainees and families he met on the ground at Delaney Hall, he highlighted immediate needs that must be addressed, including increased medical care and better food. “It shouldn’t be easier for ICE to deploy pepper spray and riot police than to be able to provide medical support as well as better food,” said Senator Kim. WATCH: As the administration refuses to shut down Delaney Hall, Senator Kim further outlined three actions Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin should take to address needs inside the facility: Immediately surge medical personnel to Delaney Hall Have the DHS Inspector General conduct an independent investigation into the conditions and treatment of detainees inside Delaney Hall Uphold the right to due process for all detainees, as they currently are not getting their cases heard in court WATCH: Senator Kim also called out the Trump administration and GEO Group for choosing to continue this cruelty in order to make profit. “It’s a choice. Delaney Hall is run by a group called GEO Group. GEO Group is getting nearly a $1 billion contract to run Delaney Hall. They tell me there is one full-time doctor for 800 detainees. They could have more doctors if they wanted to, but that’s cutting into the profits they’re trying to pocket,” said Senator Kim. Last week, Senator Kim led members of the New Jersey Democratic Congressional delegation in sending a letter to Secretary Mullin and Acting Attorney General (Acting AG) Todd Blanche outlining a series of demands for immediate action and accountability, and to end ICE brutality and inhumane detention at Delaney Hall in Newark. The letter built on months of work by Senator Kim to close Delaney Hall and end inhumane detention across the country, including his oversight visits this past week and previous inspections and direct conversations with those detained. The Senator also filed a series of reforms to rein in the Trump administration’s lawless ICE, including specifically to end inhumane detention at Delaney Hall, and introduced a package of legislation to end warehouse detention nationwide and prevent taxpayer dollars from funding ICE’s lawlessness. ###