{"id":601,"date":"2026-06-23T18:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601"},"modified":"2026-06-23T18:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:37:55","slug":"union-activists-are-building-solidarity-with-delaney-hall-hunger-strikers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601","title":{"rendered":"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n

Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a <\/span><\/i>quick donation<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Read more The Fight Against AI Data Centers Is the Newest Frontier of Global Class Warfare<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At least 200 labor activists, union members, and community activists rallied outside of Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday, in a show of solidarity with those detained in the immigration jail. <\/p>\n

The demonstration was held on Father\u2019s Day to show solidarity with the parents detained in Delaney Hall and their families. It was organized by Labor Eyes on ICE, a coalition of unions and activist groups that has worked to build labor solidarity with those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Delaney Hall and elsewhere, over the past year. The alliance includes unions and organizations in New Jersey and New York, including HPAE Local 5094, Professional Staff Congress-CUNY; Newark Library Workers; 1199 SEIU; and the North and Central Jersey chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America. <\/p>\n

At the rally, activists held signs and banners that said \u201cAn Injury to One Is an Injury to All\u201d and \u201cFree Them All.\u201d They also held signs saying \u201cSupport the Women at Delaney Hall,\u201d in reference to the women detained in Delaney Hall\u2019s Unit 1, who announced on June 11 that they were joining the ongoing hunger and labor strike and put forward their own gender-specific demands. <\/p>\n

Over 300 people detained at Delaney launched the hunger and labor strike on May 22 after releasing letters describing the inhumane conditions within the jail, which is run by for-profit prison company GEO Group. The hunger strikers have faced repeated retaliation from both ICE and GEO Group staff, including beatings, teargassing, and the transfer of a majority of the striking men. <\/p>\n

Union activists spoke at the rally, stressing the importance of labor solidarity with the detainees. Three mothers whose husbands were kidnapped by ICE and imprisoned at Delaney also spoke, with their children by their side. Among those speakers was Gabriela Soto, who initiated the protests in solidarity with the hunger and labor strikers outside Delaney Hall on May 22. In a powerful speech with her toddler in her arms, she said that her husband, Martin Soto, was \u201cillegally detained back on February first, for going out to get diapers.\u201d <\/p>\n

ICE and GEO Group saw her husband as the instigator of the hunger strike \u2013 despite the fact that it was a collective effort \u2013 and transferred him to another detention center in May. Soto said that ICE and GEO Group staff offered to release her husband if she stopped the protests outside of Delaney. He refused.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep fighting for the freedom of these people,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Soto said that reporters have asked her what she thinks of America. \u201cMy answer for every single reporter is, America is Peru. America is Africa. America is Colombia. America is Mexico. We [immigrants] are America.\u201d <\/p>\n

Two other mothers described their children\u2019s anguish and confusion since their fathers were kidnapped by ICE. They said that they have been retaliated against by the facility, and denied visits to their husbands after speaking to the media.<\/p>\n

As the protest continued, the facility told families visiting their detained loved ones that they were shutting down visitation for the remainder of the day \u2013 in retaliation for the demonstration and in an attempt to pit families against the protests. Some family members left in tears. <\/p>\n

The demonstration, however, symbolized the growth of labor solidarity and labor organizing efforts with Delaney over the course of the past year. <\/p>\n

Labor Eyes on ICE describes itself as an \u201calliance of labor unions that supports the complete abolition of ICE\u201d and \u201cfreedom for everyone currently being held in immigrant detention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaac Jimenez, secretary of the Union of Rutgers Administrators (URA-AFT) told Truthout <\/em>earlier this month that unions have been in solidarity with people imprisoned in Delaney Hall since the jail reopened in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cHPAE was the first local, the first union \u2013 and those are the health care workers and nurses \u2013 to jump in and build this alliance, and since then we\u2019ve had monthly demonstrations outside Delaney, and have gotten more unions to sign on,\u201d he said. \u201cNow we have about [10 or 11] unions that have joined this alliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Former CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger Eyes US Senate Seat in Tennessee<\/a><\/p>\n

After the Sunday rally, Sofya Aptekar of PSC-CUNY told Truthout <\/em>how the coalition of unions has grown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tristate area is tightly integrated with New York and New Jersey residents working across the state line,\u201d she said. \u201cThe involvement of New York unions in this fight belies the outside agitator narrative\u201d \u2013 a line repeated by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D), who blamed \u2018outsiders\u2019 for the violence by ICE agents and police \u2013 \u201cbecause some of these union members live in New Jersey and work in New York. And New Yorkers are kidnapped by ICE and detained in Delaney. We come to fight for our New York and New Jersey neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geoff Johnson, Rebecca Shapiro, and Karl Schwartz, who initiated Labor Eyes on ICE, also spoke to Truthout. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a rank-and-file member of PSC-CUNY for over 20 years, it has been incredible to see the increased energy within our union as a direct result of ongoing organizing by our Immigrant Solidarity Working Group,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

PSC-CUNY has brought \u201cdozens of members and their families\u201d to Delaney for the last two monthly Labor Eyes on ICE demonstrations, he said. Over the past year, members of the working group have also served as court observers, accompanying immigrants in NYC courts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re standing in solidarity with those harmed by the oppression and violence of the Trump regime and ICE,\u201d he said, \u201cbut we\u2019re also building our union\u2019s organizing muscles for future fights.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rebecca Shapiro, also of PSC-CUNY, told Truthout <\/em>that the Father\u2019s Day demonstration was one of many actions by Labor Eyes on ICE to spread awareness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot allow people to be incarcerated and treated so unconstitutionally; it is offensive and wrong,\u201d she said. \u201cAs long as Delaney Hall, places like it, and ICE continue to exist, we will work towards the dismantling of an unjust and unconstitutional system that actively seeks to harm people and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karl Schwartz, vice president of AFSCME Local 2298 representing Newark Public Library workers, told Truthout <\/em>that the coalition \u201crefuse[s] to let anyone divide us along lines of immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a myth that the working class supports Trump\u2019s cruel campaign of mass deportations, but we have proven that here in New Jersey, working people overwhelmingly stand with their immigrant brothers and sisters,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are proud of the hundreds of working people who showed up on Father\u2019s Day to demand an end to ICE detention. We know that it is millionaires and billionaires who have made life so hard for working people in this country \u2014 not undocumented immigrants.\u201d <\/p>\n

Local police arrived at the height of the demonstration, but the rally continued without a major confrontation. However, when the labor event ended and the demonstration thinned, retaliatory actions began once again. A GEO Group employee or private security contractor deliberately struck a protester with his car; she was taken to the hospital. Soon after, ICE agents pepper sprayed the protesters who remained at the site. <\/p>\n

Delaney has become a flashpoint of struggle in the fight against President Donald Trump\u2019s expansion of ICE and draconian detention and deportation campaign.<\/p>\n

Labor solidarity activists \u201cwere there [at Delaney] before the hunger strike and we will be there after it too,\u201d Schwartz told Truthout<\/em>. \u201cWe are not giving up until everyone inside Delaney Hall is released and the detention center closes for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more An Abelardo de la Espriella Presidency Threatens Colombia\u2019s Climate Policies<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday\u2019s rally came after months of labor solidarity efforts with detainees, who continue to face retaliation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nUnion Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sunday\u2019s rally came after months of labor solidarity efforts with detainees, who continue to face retaliation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-23T18:37:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-23T18:37:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601\"},\"wordCount\":1299,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601\",\"name\":\"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers - Smart Moving Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-23T18:37:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1536},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=601#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smart Moving Home\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers - Smart Moving Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers - Smart Moving Home","og_description":"Sunday\u2019s rally came after months of labor solidarity efforts with detainees, who continue to face retaliation.","og_url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601","og_site_name":"Smart Moving Home","article_published_time":"2026-06-23T18:37:55+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"headline":"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers","datePublished":"2026-06-23T18:37:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601"},"wordCount":1299,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601","name":"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers - Smart Moving Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-06-23T18:37:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8e883bb4bee83ba744db1a0db85c9792.jpeg","width":2048,"height":1536},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=601#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Union Activists Are Building Solidarity With Delaney Hall Hunger Strikers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/","name":"Smart Moving Home","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/smartmovinghome.com"],"url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}