Why we’re calling Delaney Hall a “concentration camp”
The term describes facilities where targeted groups are held without due process under inhumane conditions.
This week, The Jersey Bee updated our style guide to include the term “concentration camp,” using it to describe Delaney Hall, a federally-funded, privately-run facility in Newark where nearly 300 detainees are alleging inhumane conditions and violations of their legal rights.
Detainees have been on a hunger and labor strike since May 22 and have four demands: a meeting with Governor Mikie Sherrill; release of people with serious medical conditions; release of young, elderly detainees, and pregnant women; and their freedom.
We’re publishing this blog post to explain our decision to refer to Delaney Hall as a “concentration camp” and clarify the term’s meaning.
“Concentration camp”
Concentration camps are places where groups of people targeted based on their identity are imprisoned in violation of their legal and human rights.
Major 20th-century examples of concentration camps include Nazi camps targeting Jews and other groups in Europe, British camps in South Africa, German camps in West Africa, Khmer Rouge camps in Cambodia, Turkish camps targeting Armenians, and the U.S. internment of German, Italian, and Japanese Americans during WWII. Some Nazi, Khmer Rouge, and Turkish camps became places where detainees would be systematically murdered.
The use of concentration camps in the U.S. dates back at least to the 1830s, when federal troops forced thousands of Cherokee into “emigration depots” in Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign commonly known as The Trail of Tears.
Why now
According to statements made by detainees, their advocates, and government officials, Delaney Hall meets the criteria to be labeled a concentration camp.
Allegations of legal rights violations
The Trump administration is arguing in court that it can hold immigrants without them ever seeing a judge, and Justice Department officials have previously instructed immigration judges to disregard federal rulings requiring bond hearings.
Lawyers arguing against the Trump administration’s position say it gives detainees no opportunity to show their detention is unnecessary, a violation of the constitutional right to due process.
Inside Delaney Hall, detainees are alleging violations of their 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendment rights, specifically noting that bond requests (that would trigger a judge’s review) are being denied without a legal basis.
Alleged targeting of a group
Three quarters of Delaney Hall detainees are Latin American or Caribbean men and 4 in 5 have no pending criminal charges, according to ICE data from the Deportation Data Project.
Allegations of human rights violations
Detainees are being held under harsh conditions, according to Human Rights Watch.
New Jersey and Newark are both suing GEO Group, the private company that runs Delaney Hall, alleging inhumane conditions.
Learn more
Read the letters from Delaney Hall detainees here.
Read about the differences between “detention center” and “concentration camp” at The Marshall Project.
Learn how to report ICE sightings in your neighborhood to local organizers here.
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