Family visits at the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in New Jersey have been restored for parts of the facility. Governor Mikie Sherrill and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed the resumption on Sunday morning, as reported by the Guardian. Visits had been canceled after detainees began a hunger and work strike. The protests outside the center were met with aggressive policing tactics.
According to facility management speaking to the Guardian, units 1 and 3 regained visitation rights around 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. local time, respectively. Unit 1 houses women. Unit 2 holds most of the hunger-striking detainees — whether family visits are possible there remained unclear on Sunday. The office of Governor Sherrill and the private prison operator Group, which runs the facility, did not respond to inquiries.
The announcement and subsequent confusion among families followed a night of violent clashes between local officers and demonstrators outside the facility. In response, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed an overnight curfew starting at 9:00 p.m. for the cordoned-off area around Delaney Hall. The access road is now fully blocked by police, except for families wishing to visit their relatives.
Source: www.theguardian.com
