A Statement From Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill on the Death of a Detainee at Delaney Hall Detention Center 

I have just learned news of the death of a detainee at the Delaney Hall Detention Center right here in Essex County. This is a complete disregard for humanity that is coming from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the GEO Group. The people being detained at this facility deserve to be treated like human beings, and it pains me every day that this facility continues to operate. This death, and the dozens of others this year at detention centers across the country, are on the hands of President Donald Trump and his cruel Administration. 

This treatment of our immigrant neighbors, friends, and coworkers cannot keep happening. Immigrants deserve to be treated like human beings, with dignity, respect, and basic human rights. I have written multiple times now to the Department of Homeland Security demanding answers for the conditions at this facility, and not receiving a response is a crude example of their neglect and disregard for human life. 

The Constitution clearly establishes Congress’s oversight authority, and this facility must comply by allowing full and transparent congressional oversight. 

The reports of mismanagement of human life continue to pour into my office. Facility temperature is used as a weapon, illnesses going untreated for weeks, inadequate food portions, stolen commissary items, clothes taken and not returned, and phone calls blocked with no explanation, are just a few of the inhumane and unconscionable violations taking place at this facility. 

We cannot allow treatment like this to continue. I call on every member of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, to investigate this death and the conditions at Delaney Hall. It is our duty as elected officials to care for and protect everyone who lives in our community.