05/31/2026
The scenes unfolding at Delaney Hall over the past week have been deeply troubling not just for Newark, but for all New Jerseyans who believe that how we treat people in our custody reflects who we are as a state.
I want to be clear: I support the right to protest. But the violence we’ve seen, projectiles thrown, fires set, barriers used as weapons, does not serve the cause of justice. It puts peaceful protesters, law enforcement, and the surrounding community at risk, and it hands ammunition to those who want to dismiss legitimate concerns about conditions inside that facility.
Those concerns are real. Reports of inadequate medical care, sanitation issues, and the interruption of family visitation are not abstractions, they are about human beings in our state’s backyard. I am glad that Governor Sherrill secured the restoration of family visits today. That is a first step, not a finish line.
New Jersey has a proud tradition of standing up when federal policy falls short of basic human dignity. We also have a tradition of doing it with order, with persistence, and with our legal tools.
My ask is simple: let the legal process work. Let oversight visits continue. Let peaceful voices be the loudest ones in the room. We are stronger together than we are divided by this moment.
