Lawmakers Find Detainees in 'Inhumane' Conditions

Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday said they observed dire conditions in a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey where protesters have been demonstrating for days and asserting that detainees are on a hunger strike. Rep. Jerry Nadler said detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark are being given small portions of food that "very often" contain maggots and that the only medication they receive is Tylenol, the AP reports. One woman, he said, had a lump in her breast but was still waiting on a mammogram more than a month into her detention. Another detainee was suffering from colon cancer but wasn't receiving any treatment.

"The bottom line is, if you are human, if you are American, you cannot support what is going on here," said Rep. Dan Goldman. "They're living in jail conditions, and none of these people are criminals." Rep. Adriano Espaillat described conditions as "inhumane" after spending about an hour inside. "We will shut this center down," he pledged. "We will shut it down." The lawmakers addressed protesters and family members of detainees demonstrating outside the security gate after their visits. More than 50 people held signs saying "Stop Family Separation" and chanted slogans such as "Free Them All." Some shouted directly at the armed and helmet-wearing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers standing outside, calling them "cowards" and "idiots." The protests began Friday.

Gabriela Soto said that her husband was among the detainees who participated in the hunger strike before he was transferred to another facility. "At first it was just 300. Then it became a little bit more. Now, every single detainee inside there is participating. Every single one," she said. Amol Sinha of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey said his organization has heard "horror stories" of detainees, including pregnant women, not getting proper medical treatment for their health conditions. "Cruelty is the point," he said. The US Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has denied any hunger strike, abuse, or poor conditions inside the center and dismissed the criticisms as political posturing. "The fact is, we're giving them the calories they want," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday of detainees at Delaney Hall. "This isn't Holiday Inn."