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Prayer service held outside of Delaney Hall days after Newark mayor’s arrest

Clergy gathered outside Delaney Hall not just in prayer, but to demand that officials release the names of the people being held inside the building.

Matt Trapani and Naomi Yané

May 12, 2025, 9:40 PM

Updated 3 hr ago

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An interfaith prayer service was held outside the Delaney Hall ICE Detention Center on Monday. It comes on the heels of the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Friday outside the facility.
Clergy from New Jersey and neighboring states gathered outside Delaney Hall not just in prayer, but to demand that the Department of Homeland Security release the names of the people being held inside the building.
Baraka was arrested on Friday while protesting outside the facility with a congressional delegation from New Jersey. Homeland Security officials said that Baraka was trespassing. He was released a few hours later.
“Our Congressional members have the legal right to do congressional oversight, and they have been denied that opportunity,” said Crystal Walthall, executive director of Faith in NY. “The city of Newark also has its own jurisdiction to do oversight. We need to understand the condition of the facility.”
Baraka and other elected officials were not at Monday’s prayer service.