Congresswoman Mejia, Leader Jeffries Hold Roundtable on Inhumane ICE Detention at Delaney Hall
For Immediate Release: August 11, 2026
Contact: Beth Wiesinger | NJ11AMPress@Mail.House.Gov
MORRISTOWN, NJ – Today, Congresswoman Analilia Mejia (NJ-11) was joined by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and Congressman Rob Menendez (NJ-08) at Calvary Baptist Church in Morristown for a private roundtable with families affected by the Trump administration's immigration detention policies. Participants included former detainees and family members of current detainees at Delaney Hall and Elizabeth Detention Center; the families of Jean Wilson Brutus and Edwin Jovanny López Cornejo, both of whom died in ICE custody; Reverend Samaria Tillman and Reverend Jerry Carter Jr. of Calvary Baptist Church; Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty; and Morris Township Mayor Donna Guariglia.
Families described conditions inside Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center, focusing on the treatment of medically vulnerable people in ICE custody. Participants described facility staff withholding medication or administering it at incorrect doses, ignoring requests for medical attention, and inflicting a toll on their households and families that has lasted long after detention ended. Several described ICE agents taking them into custody without warning during routine activities, ignoring their legal status, and holding them for weeks before release. Leader Jeffries, Congresswoman Mejia, and Congressman Menendez discussed congressional efforts to strengthen oversight of ICE detention facilities and hold the agency accountable for conditions inside them.
"Today, I sat with families who have lived through something no family should ever have to endure. Their grief is real, and so is their bravery in choosing to share it with us today," said Congresswoman Analilia Mejia (NJ-11). "It matters when our government treats people with this kind of callousness, strips them of due process, and hands them a death sentence through its refusal to provide basic dignity and care. If it can do this to any person in this country, it can do it to every one of us. I'm grateful to Leader Jeffries, Congressman Menendez, and everyone who stood with these families today, and I will not stop fighting until Delaney Hall is closed for good."
"Dramatic change is necessary. Immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, just and humane. Instead, taxpayer dollars are being used by ICE and Donald Trump's violent mass deportation machine to brutalize and kill American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families. ICE detention centers are engaging in un-American behavior that includes the lack of adequate medical treatment to people who are oftentimes experiencing severe illness. Delaney Hall needs to be shut down, and that will remain a high priority for us until it takes place," said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08). "I want to thank Congresswoman Mejia and Congressman Menendez for your tremendous leadership and advocacy during this fraught moment and the families who we heard from for your courage, bravery and resilience."
"Today, I heard heartbreaking stories from families who have been forever impacted by ICE’s cruel and inhumane policies and actions,” said Congressman Rob Menendez (NJ-08). “Their stories - and the stories of so many members of our community - are what drive our work every single day. I am thankful to stand alongside Leader Jeffries, Rep. Mejia, and our Democratic colleagues as we continue to hold ICE accountable, demand answers and work to end this national nightmare."
Among the participants was Margarita Cielo Balbuena of Dover, who was held at Elizabeth Detention Center earlier this year. Congresswoman Mejia visited Ms. Balbuena and her husband at the facility and learned firsthand that she was not receiving the correct dose of her medication, an experience Mejia later raised directly with DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. It is one of many cases that have driven Congresswoman Mejia's repeated oversight visits to Delaney Hall and Elizabeth Detention Center, and her pressure on DHS over the quality of medical care provided to detainees. Last week, she led a letter demanding that the Department of Homeland Security address poor conditions and inadequate medical care at Delaney Hall, signed by every Democratic member of the New Jersey congressional delegation.
View the full press conference here.
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