NEW JERSEY (PIX11) --- Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has been released after he was arrested for allegedly trespassing at an ICE facility in New Jersey Friday, officials said.
The politician said he was released at 8 p.m. and charged with trespassing.
Baraka was taken into custody at Delaney Hall in Newark, where he has been protesting since the new immigration facility opened by the President Donald Trump administration, authorities said.
ICE officials arrested the mayor during a raucous scene caught on video. In video of the altercation shared with The Associated Press, a federal official in a jacket with the logo of the Homeland Security Investigations can be heard telling Baraka he could not join a tour of the facility because “you are not a congress member.”
Baraka then left the secure area, rejoining protesters on the public side of the gate. Video showed him speaking through the gate to a man in a suit, who said: “They’re talking about coming back to arrest you.”
“I’m not on their property. They can’t come out on the street and arrest me,” Baraka replied.
Witnesses said the arrest came after Baraka attempted to join a scheduled tour of the facility with three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.
"When they arrested the mayor, he was in the public domain. He was not on their property," Rep. Coleman said.
McIver said she and her colleagues were allegedly assaulted by ICE police officers.
"It was unnecessary force. It was really, really ridiculous," she said.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that as a bus of detainees was entering the detention center, “a group of protestors, including two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.”
The Newark mayor was visiting Delaney Hall to conduct oversight after the building was turned into an ICE facility.
Delany Hall was leased for $63 million annually from a private prison group known as The GEO Group. The city of Newark is suing for more inspections, claiming ICE has not indicated how many detainees it has in the building – which can only house 1,000 people.
Baraka said on Monday that the issues at Delany Hall go beyond the lack of safety inspections and proper permits.
This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.
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