President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda is gaining momentum as ICE prepares to unveil the East Coast’s largest detention facility. The Delaney Hall facility in Newark, New Jersey will play a pivotal role in fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to address the border crisis through increased detention capabilities.
At a Glance
- ICE will reopen the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, NJ, making it the largest immigration facility on the East Coast
- This marks the first detention center opening under the Trump administration’s renewed focus on illegal immigration
- The facility’s location near Newark International Airport provides strategic advantages for processing and removal operations
- GEO Group secured a $900 million contract spanning 15 years to operate the facility
- New Jersey Democrats attempted to block the facility with anti-ICE legislation, but faced legal defeats citing constitutional violations
Trump Administration Delivers on Immigration Enforcement
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is set to reopen Delaney Hall detention center in Newark this spring, marking a significant step in President Trump’s renewed immigration enforcement strategy. The 1,000-bed facility will become the largest immigration detention center on the East Coast, providing crucial capacity to process and detain illegal immigrants awaiting deportation proceedings.
Located adjacent to the Essex County jail, the facility previously housed immigration detainees from 2011 to 2017 before Democrat-led policies in New Jersey forced its closure. The strategic location near Newark Liberty International Airport provides logistical advantages for processing detainees and executing removal operations, aligning perfectly with the administration’s enforcement goals.
Strategic Location Enhances Enforcement Capabilities
ICE officials highlighted the practical benefits of reopening the Newark facility as part of their enhanced enforcement strategy. The proximity to major transportation hubs will streamline operations and allow for more efficient processing of illegal immigrants in federal custody.
“The location near an international airport streamlines logistics, and helps facilitate the timely processing of individuals in our custody as we pursue President Trump’s mandate to arrest, detain and remove illegal aliens from our communities,” Acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello said.
The facility’s reopening comes at a crucial time when current detention centers in the region are operating at or near capacity. New Jersey currently has just one active immigration detention center in Elizabeth with a 270-person capacity, while neighboring New York maintains three facilities with a combined 600-bed capacity. Pennsylvania’s Moshannon Valley Processing Center, currently the largest in the region, holds just over 1,000 individuals.
Private Sector Partnership Defies Democrat Obstruction
The GEO Group, which owns Delaney Hall, announced a substantial contract with ICE worth $60 million annually for 15 years, totaling $900 million. This partnership showcases the administration’s commitment to working with private sector experts to efficiently manage detention operations, despite opposition from liberal politicians.
GEO Group CEO David Donahue specifically referenced the “scale of opportunity” presented by Trump’s mass deportation policies, highlighting the alignment between the administration’s goals and private sector capabilities to execute the enforcement agenda.
The reopening represents a significant legal victory against Democrat-led obstruction efforts. New Jersey had previously enacted legislation banning ICE from opening immigrant-specific detention facilities, but portions of that law were struck down in 2023 as unconstitutional. GEO Group further challenged the state in 2024, citing the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, which establishes federal law as the supreme law of the land when conflicts with state law arise.
