A group of senior housing residents from Teaneck in Bergen County, ages 85 to 97, joined a former state senator in protesting at Delaney Hall, the immigration detention facility in Newark. They called for due process for immigrants, better conditions at the facility and the closure of all immigration detention centers. They also delivered scarves, hats and gift cards for detainees' families.
According to the local outlet Patch, a group of residents ages 85 to 97 from a senior housing complex in Teaneck, Bergen County, rode a van to the Delaney Hall Detention Camp in Newark on Saturday to protest. Former state Sen. Loretta Weinberg accompanied them. They demanded due process for immigrants, improved conditions for detainees and visitors, and the closure of all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.
A spokesperson for the residents said most participants came with canes or walkers, and that they were determined to show up in person and make their voices heard. The group sang with the Solidarity Singers, a choir affiliated with the NJ State Industrial Union Council. They brought two bags full of handmade scarves and hats for visitors waiting outside the facility in the cold, and donated several hundred dollars' worth of supermarket gift cards for detainees' families.
Patch reported that the facility has been criticized over poor living conditions and reports that many detainees have no criminal record. Paula Rogovin, co-founder of the Teaneck Peace and Justice Vigil, which has held protests and mutual aid activities outside Delaney Hall since May 2025, said medical and mental health care are lacking. Sally Pillay, director of the Mami Chelo Foundation, said some detainees are released after 11:30 p.m., and that the foundation helps arrange rides home. Weinberg promised to arrange a meeting with Rep. Josh Gottheimer so the group could bring the facility's problems to his attention.
According to Patch, local officials in Teaneck voiced concerns about recent ICE enforcement at a City Council meeting earlier this year. More recently, officials in northern New Jersey criticized enforcement near schools, but the federal government claimed that some related social media posts were inaccurate.