New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherril denied access to detention center!
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill is the firs Democratic Lady Governor of the State of New Jersey!
Washington, May 25 (EFE).-
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill access Monday to an immigration detention facility in the state, where detainees have launched a hunger strike and dozens of protesters have gathered outside amid allegations of poor conditions.
Sherrill said in a statement that her request to enter the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, was rejected, raising “serious questions about what they are trying to keep from public view.”
The Democrat is the first sitting New Jersey governor to seek entry to the detention facility, which faces complaints of overcrowding, lack of medical care and unsanitary conditions.
Since Friday, more than 300 detainees at the center have begun a hunger strike in an effort to draw attention to conditions inside.
Sherrill on Monday spoke with families of detained immigrants and with advocates demonstrating outside the facility, including Latina Civic Action. “What I heard from them was heartbreaking,” she said.
The detention center has faced mounting criticism for overcrowding since President Donald Trump launched a campaign of mass deportations.
Governor Mikie Sherrill (c) and US Senator Andy Kim (r) for Visiting Delaney Hall, Demanding Access Inside the Facility and Standing Alongside the Families of the Detained.
Photo by Latina Civic Action at Delaney Hall in Newark, NJ
“People inside Delaney Hall are parents, sons and daughters, and members of our community,” Sherrill said. “In New Jersey, we believe in the rule of law and that everyone deserves to be treated with basic dignity.”
Sherrill was joined by other New Jersey Democrats, including Sen. Andy Kim and Reps. Rob Menendez Jr., Nellie Pou and LaMonica McIver.
The governor said she will continue to demand accountability and the closure of the detention center.
Protests over the weekend escalated into clashes with federal authorities, who made arrests.
At least 17 immigrants have died in ICE custody so far this year. A recent CNN investigation found that nearly 50 ICE detainees have died since Trump returned to the presidency, the highest number of deaths in at least two decades. EFE as/lds
