NEWARK, NEW JERSEY — Nearly 40 women detained in Unit 1 of the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, initiated a hunger and labor strike. The women called for ICE to release detainees under 21, those with medical conditions, and mothers.

The striking women also demanded improvements to facility conditions and quicker processing of their immigration cases. On May 22, over 300 men at Delaney Hall had previously begun a hunger and labor strike, also demanding improved conditions and the release of sick and elderly detainees.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that no hunger strike is occurring at Delaney Hall. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, "Another day, another hoax about ICE. There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time. No detainees are being beaten or abused."

Lawmakers who conducted oversight visits said facility conditions matched the claims made by detainees. Two 18-year-old women and all pregnant women detained at Delaney Hall were released from the facility. The Delaney Hall facility is operated by the private prison company Geo Group, which signed a 15-year contract with ICE for the facility.

Protests supporting the detainees took place outside the facility. ICE officers deployed pepper spray, Tasers, and batons against these protesters. New Jersey state police and Newark local police also deployed teargas and arrested dozens of protesters to disperse the crowd.

"Today, we stand with the women demanding release, safe living conditions, medical care, legal representation, family visitation, safe drinking water and protection from abuse. These are not radical demands; these are demands rooted in basic human rights." Archange Antoine, a minister with the Clergy Coalition for Liberation, said.

Catalina Adorno, a volunteer with Cosecha, commented on the difficulty of striking. "We know that engaging in a strike is really hard. Not just because of what it does to the physical body, but also because we have seen that the guards and that ICE are retaliating against the strikers." Adorno said.

In a letter, women detained at Delaney Hall stated, "Most of the women detained at this center were illegally detained by ICE. We were taken at the entrances of our immigration court check-ins, at our jobs, taking our kids to school." The letter also described the treatment received at the center: "The treatment we received from this center is deplorable from screams, racism, and bad medical attention."