Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was taken into custody on Friday at a federal immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, after he refused to leave the facility while protesting its opening this week.
The arrest occurred while Baraka was demonstrating outside Delaney Hall, a detention facility run by private prison operator Geo Group. According to Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Baraka committed trespass and ignored warnings from Homeland Security personnel to leave the building.
"He chose to disregard the law," Habba said in a statement. "He chose not to follow instructions."
Opposition to Immigration Policies
Baraka has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration policies and has aggressively pushed back against the construction and opening of the 1,000-bed detention center in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood.
His wife, Linda, expressed concern over her husband’s treatment during an interview with AP News on Saturday morning. She stated that she had tried to visit him at an Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding facility in Elizabeth after his arrest but was not allowed inside.
"They didn’t arrest anyone else," Linda Baraka said. "They didn’t ask anyone else to leave."
Chaotic Protest Scene
Linda Baraka described a chaotic scene outside Delaney Hall on Friday as police officers wearing riot gear dispersed protesters using pepper spray and batons.
"There was yelling and pushing," she said. "Then they swarmed [the mayor]. They threw one of our organizers down onto concrete."
She also claimed that her husband had been treated roughly when taken into custody by police officers who were wearing riot gear but did not have badges or identification numbers visible on their uniforms.
"They took him away like he wasn’t even human," Linda Baraka said during an interview with AP News earlier today from her home, where she was watching live footage of protests unfolding near Delaney Hall Federal Contract Facility in Newark, NJ.
Linda added, "This is what happens when you stand up for immigrants’ rights — especially if you’re Black," suggesting that her husband is being targeted because of his race and his advocacy work for immigrants’ rights, which includes support for undocumented immigrants living without legal status in the U.S.
Response from Homeland Security
In response to criticism over how police handled protests outside Delaney Hall Federal Contract Facility, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. McLaughlin tweeted earlier today:
"Members of Congress are not above the law."
The incident has sparked concerns about police treatment of protesters and their rights as citizens under First Amendment protections that guarantee freedom of speech and assembly in the U.S.
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