On Friday afternoon, federal agents apprehended Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center after an altercation with officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The intense event, recorded by local media, took place during a ‘congressional oversight’ visit that included three Democrats from New Jersey, culminating in Baraka, who is also a Democrat, being apprehended in handcuffs following a confrontation with the lawmakers and others.
As stated by U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, Baraka engaged in trespassing and disregarded several warnings to vacate the premises.
In a strongly articulated statement issued after the arrest, Habba remarked, ‘The Mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, has trespassed and disregarded several warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to vacate the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, this afternoon. He has consciously opted to violate the law. Such actions will not be tolerated in this state. He has been apprehended. NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.’
Baraka was said to be attempting to join a congressional delegation visiting the newly established immigration detention center at Delaney Hall. While the visit was initially characterized as standard procedure, tensions heightened after Baraka was initially halted at the entrance, subsequently granted access, and then purportedly interjected into discussions deemed unauthorized by federal agents, according to reports.
Footage obtained from News12NJ depicts Baraka being led away in handcuffs after a contentious verbal confrontation with agents. Although the specific circumstances of the disagreement are not fully understood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has deemed his conduct to be illegal.
Baraka was launched a few hours subsequently, as reported by Fox News.
I received fair treatment from them, and I hold a great deal of respect for those individuals; however, ultimately, we did not commit any wrongdoing. This incident should not have occurred today, yet it did, serving as a reminder of the efforts we still need to undertake.
On Friday evening, a gathering took place outside the HSI Newark Field Office, attended by a number of Congress members, where Baraka was detained. The attendees expressed their demands for his prompt release through chanting, shouting, and banging on the gate.
While Baraka was briefly detained, several political leaders expressed their robust support for his release.
Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, characterized Baraka’s arrest as “troubling, unwarranted, and reflective of strategies that compromise the safety and security of our communities rather than enhance it.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) expressed his condemnation of the arrest, stating that he was “deeply disturbed by the wrongful detention.” He highlighted that four years prior, he enacted legislation prohibiting private federal immigration detention facilities within the state, a law that New Jersey recently defended in a federal appeals court.
Bob Hugin, the chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party, characterized Baraka’s actions as a mere ‘stunt’ and emphasized that he had disregarded several warnings from officials.
He is not currently serving as a mayor; rather, he is campaigning for the position of governor. This action illustrates the type of leadership he would embody: one that prioritizes political theatrics over public safety and adherence to the law, according to Hugin.
The Trump administration also condemned Democrats for their ongoing support of undocumented immigrants facing deportation.
Consistently, Democrats are placing the interests of undocumented immigrants above those of American citizens; however, they are now blurring the line between trivial political theatrics and blatant legal violations,” stated White House spokesperson Kush Desai in an interview with Fox News Digital.
