The Brief Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has been released from custody after he was arrested outside Delaney Hall ICE detention center, a spokesperson confirmed.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday at a new federal immigration detention center he has been protesting against and was held in custody for several hours.
The mayor said he could not speak about his case, citing a promise he made to lawyers and the judge.
A spokesperson from Ras Baraka for Governor Campaign confirmed Mayor Baraka had been arrested and detained by ICE at around 3 p.m. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba posted that the mayor "committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center," and that he had been taken into custody.
Mayor Baraka had been protesting the opening of Delaney Hall throughout the week – Delaney Hall is an ICE detention center that opened May 1, according to the private prison company that operates the center, GEO Group.
He's argued that the 1,000-bed detention center should not be allowed to open because of building permit issues.
"They not only arrested the mayor of Newark but put their hands on two members of Congress.". »