"New Jersey mayor to continue fight against Ice detention center after arrest"

Newark’s Ras Baraka says court fight against Geo Group will go on despite being jailed and charged with trespassing

Speaking out after his arrest on Tuesday, Newark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, said his city would continue its fight in court against the company that runs an immigration detention facility in New Jersey.

“I know there are some protests that other people are planning, and if I feel obligated to be there, I will,” Baraka told the Rev Al Sharpton on MSNBC Saturday afternoon. “This doesn’t stop the city’s contention with the Geo Group, and we’re going to continue in court with them.”

Baraka was arrested on Tuesday morning after joining three members of Congress at a protest and press conference outside a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention facility located in Newark known as Delaney Hall. [...]

Newark sued Geo Group after the company won a 15-year $1bn contract with Ice to run Delaney Hall, saying that the company was renovating the facility without proper permits and that city inspectors had been barred from entering the center.

Federal officials and representatives from Geo Group denied the allegations and told the New York Times that the company had the proper permits, saying that Baraka’s arrest was a “publicity stunt by the mayor”, who is also running in the state’s gubernatorial race.

“The mayor has been informed that he is more than welcome to enter the facility, as long as he follows security protocols like everyone else,” McLoughlin told the Times. [...]

“We don’t know what’s going on in there, we don’t know who’s in there. They don’t allow inspectors. They’re not complying with local laws,” Baraka said. “They feel like they don’t have to go to court.”