What happens when a private corporation gets a $1 billion check from the federal government? Apparently, they think it buys them an extra-constitutional colony on American soil.
In today’s episode, we are pulling back the curtain on the explosive crisis unfolding right now at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey. What began on May 22nd as a desperate, courageous hunger and labor strike by over 300 civil detainees has exposed the raw, rotten core of the for-profit prison pipeline. We are talking about human beings being fed maggot-infested food, a dangerous tuberculosis outbreak met with severe medical neglect, and an ICE “Voluntary Work Program” that functions as modern-day corporate enslavement—forcing civil detainees to run the facility for as little as $1 a day so GEO Group can protect its corporate profit margins.
But the horror doesn’t stop inside the walls. When the community, local labor unions, and advocacy groups gathered at the gates in solidarity, they were met with tear gas, pepper balls, and brutal physical retaliation from masked federal agents. And when New Jersey state health inspectors and the Governor showed up to enforce basic health codes, GEO Group literally barred the doors and locked the state out.
We are unpacking exactly how this shadow state operates, the toxic revolving door between ICE leadership and corporate boardrooms, the tech companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) providing the digital backbone for this cruelty, and—most importantly—the concrete blueprint the strikers have given us to hit this machine exactly where it hurts and tear it down.
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✊ MUTUAL AID & ADVOCACY: SUPPORT THE STRIKERS
The individuals inside Delaney Hall are risking solitary confinement, physical beatings, and immediate deportation to expose this machine. They cannot fight a multi-billion-dollar corporation alone. Here is exactly where you can put your money, your time, and your voice to support the mutual aid funds, legal defenses, and grassroots advocacy teams on the ground:
1. Direct Legal Action & Advocacy
The groups listed below are actively coordinating legal defense teams, fighting retaliatory transfers, and working directly with the strikers inside Delaney Hall to amplify their demands:
* New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ): Driving the rapid response and advocacy campaigns demanding accountability from state leadership and the immediate closure of the facility. Learn more and support their campaign at the NJAIJ Delaney Hall Hunger Strike Hub.
* American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) - NJ Immigrant Rights Program: AFSC’s legal fellows and organizers are on the ground working directly with clients inside Delaney Hall, documenting the abuses, and providing critical legal defense. Support their direct representation efforts via the AFSC New Jersey Immigrant Rights Program.
2. Grassroots Solidarity & On-Site Mutual Aid
Volunteers and grassroots coalitions have maintained a continuous presence outside the facility, providing an essential lifeline for family members and recently released detainees:
* Movimiento Cosecha & Labor Eyes on ICE: These grassroots, immigrant-led movements are leading the physical solidarity rallies, organizing the overnight vigils, and providing direct mutual aid—including clothing, shoelaces, food, and emergency funds for families navigating the sudden, retaliatory transfer of their loved ones. Keep up with rapid-response needs and find their direct mutual aid donation links on Instagram via @cosecha_nj and @laboreyesonice.
