By Joseph De Avila and Ginger Adams Otis

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday and later released after being accused of trespassing at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in New Jersey.

Baraka ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security to leave the ICE center in Newark before he was taken into custody, according to Alina Habba, the interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

"He has willingly chosen to disregard the law," Habba said on X. "That will not stand in this state." Habba, a former attorney for President Trump who was tapped to lead the federal prosecutor's office in New Jersey in March, told Fox News he would be charged.

Baraka, a Democrat who is running for governor, was at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark several times this week, spokesman Kabir Moss said. On Friday, he was joined by several members of New Jersey's congressional delegation who tried to enter the facility with him, said Moss.

"After he was on the other side of the gate, they said, actually you can't come in," Moss said. "He peacefully went back on the other side of the gate and then, some minutes later, they came and arrested him."

The Delaney Hall detention center has been the site of a standoff between its owner, GEO Group, and city officials and pro-immigrant groups that oppose the operation of the jail. City officials notified GEO on Tuesday that the facility had fire-code violations. The facility also lacks proper construction permits and other approvals, according to city officials. Newark sued GEO over the dispute last month.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said the facility had valid permits and cleared inspections for plumbing, electricity and fire codes.

Baraka, who is serving his third term as mayor of Newark, has led several protests outside the jail in recent weeks as part of the pushback against the Trump administration's campaign to ramp up deportations of people in the U.S. illegally.

Last month, Trump signed an executive order escalating his battle against Democratic-led states and cities that don't fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities. That same month, federal authorities stirred controversy by arresting and charging a Wisconsin judge for allegedly helping a man avoid immigration enforcement.

Baraka on Tuesday had accused GEO Group and ICE of "a nationwide pattern of discrimination, disregard for due process and attacks on the foundations of liberty, justice and democracy."

A New Jersey law passed in 2021 barred public and private jails from entering into agreements to detain noncitizens. A federal court struck down the provision that applies to private jails. That case is being appealed.

Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com and Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2025 21:20 ET (01:20 GMT)

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