DHS Says Delaney Hall Commissary Sales Rose During Reported Hunger Strike
DHS commissary sales rise at Delaney Hall amid hunger strike claims See how revenue data challenges boycott reports and what it means for Newark detention
The Department of Homeland Security says commissary sales at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, rose during a reported hunger strike, raising questions about claims that detainees were broadly refusing food.
According to the report, revenue at the ICE detention center's commissary increased sharply in late May and early June even as local news outlets and some Democratic lawmakers described a hunger and labor strike at the facility. DHS shared revenue data that it says supports the view that many detainees continued buying snacks and other items.
Lawmakers including Sen. Andy Kim and Reps. Robert Menendez Jr., Bonnie WatsonColeman, Herb Conaway Jr., and Jerrold Nadler had criticized conditions at the center during tours. DHS officials disputed those accounts, saying the facility is not meant to resemble a hotel and that the commissary numbers do not match the narrative of a widespread food boycott.