McIver Leads Democrats in Field Hearing and Visit to Delaney Hall

Skip to content Close Home About Meet LaMonica Committees And Caucuses Our District Votes and Legislation Contact Email Me Newsletter Subscribe Office Locations Request An Appearance Media Press Releases In the News Press Kit Issues Education Environment Healthcare Housing LGBTQ+ Rights Reproductive Justice Small Business Transportation and Infrastructure Voting Rights Services Help With A Federal Agency Congressional Art Competition Commendations And Greetings Appropriations Requests Flags Grant Applications Internships Military Academy Nominations Congressional App Challenge Tours And Tickets Resources Close Mobile Site Search SEARCH Congresswoman LaMonica McIver About Meet LaMonica Committees And Caucuses Our District Votes and Legislation Contact Email Me Newsletter Subscribe Office Locations Request An Appearance Media Press Releases In the News Press Kit Issues Education Environment Healthcare Housing LGBTQ+ Rights Reproductive Justice Small Business Transportation and Infrastructure Voting Rights Services Help With A Federal Agency Congressional Art Competition Commendations And Greetings Appropriations Requests Flags Grant Applications Internships Military Academy Nominations Congressional App Challenge Tours And Tickets Resources Modal Search Button Mobile Site Search Submit Search MENU Facebook Logo Twitter Logo BlueSky Logo Youtube Logo Instagram Logo Home Media Press Releases June 17, 2026 McIver Leads Democrats in Field Hearing and Visit to Delaney Hall Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), and Democratic members of the House Committee on Homeland Security held a field hearing in Newark, New Jersey, to examine the conditions at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center. Following the hearing, members traveled to the facility to conduct an oversight visit at Delaney Hall. The oversight inspection provided members an opportunity to assess conditions firsthand. McIver noted, after the visit, that ICE and GEO Group employees at Delaney Hall did not allow the members of Congress to actually speak with detainees—this was the first time that piece of their oversight had been limited. McIver also noted that last night ICE transferred over 30 people out of Delaney Hall and had transferred many more in the preceding weeks. In a press conference following the visit, McIver made brief comments. Footage of that press conference is available here . “Today, the GEO Group, along with ICE, used their administrative policy to tell us that we are not allowed, as members of Congress, to speak to detainees who are here, which is some B.S. I want to let them know that we're going to be fighting that decision, and we're going to make sure we take them right back to court,” said McIver. “From day one of coming to this facility with both my colleagues, Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman, we have been demanding that this place be shut down. It should not be open. Folks in here are being denied due process. They are being served food that is not good, that is moldy. They are not getting the medical attention that they deserve. They are being retaliated against for speaking out and speaking to their members of Congress,” McIver continued. “[ICE] has transferred over 30 people from [Delaney] last night. When we came here just a week and a half ago, there were close to 700 detainees, and now they tell us today that they have 481 people here. These people have been retaliating against and transferring [detainees], and we will not stand for it.” At the hearing , titled “The Human Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Detention: Conditions and Oversight at Delaney Hall,” the members of Congress heard from expert witnesses, local leaders, and an American citizen veteran who was detained by ICE at Delaney Hall. Witnesses testified on the conditions at the facility and major concerns regarding transparency. In recent weeks, reports of a detainee hunger strike and protests outside of the facility have made Delaney Hall a focal point for concerns about the treatment of detained individuals under the Trump administration. And since a congressional oversight visit conducted by McIver and colleagues in May 2025, Delaney Hall has faced concerns about the ability of members of Congress to conduct meaningful oversight on behalf of their constituents. (Delaney Hall is the detention center where the incident, now at the center of the Trump administration’s case against McIver, occurred. That case is ongoing.) “I am glad my Democratic colleagues and I came to Delaney Hall today to continue to expose the dangerous conditions inside – and the complete lack of oversight,” said Rep. Thompson. “What we heard – and saw – describes a system collapsing under secrecy, neglect, profiteering, and disregard for human life. It is clear Delaney Hall must be closed. I thank Congresswoman McIver for hosting us today and for leading the fight on not allowing these abuses to go unchallenged