Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Immigration Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge Essex County to reject any parking deal with GEO Group and to back an Immigrant Trust Act resolution
Summary
During public comment, multiple residents urged commissioners not to allow GEO Group to use county parking at the correctional facility, criticized Delaney Hall operations and asked the board to pass an Immigrant Trust Act resolution that would limit information sharing with federal immigration enforcement.
Several Essex County residents used the general public comment period to press commissioners to refuse any county agreements with GEO Group — the private prison operator running Delaney Hall — and to adopt a local resolution supporting the Immigrant Trust Act.
Mary Rizzo, a Newark resident, thanked the board for ending the county’s contract with ICE for detainees but said she learned the county may be considering letting GEO Group use parking at the county correctional facility for Delaney Hall employees. “If that is the case ... I would strongly encourage you to not go through with this,” Rizzo told commissioners. She described alleged operational failures at the newly opened Delaney Hall and said allowing GEO Group to use county facilities would be “a step backward.”
Cynthia Galeota, an Essex County resident of 28 years, urged commissioners to pass a resolution supporting the Immigrant Trust Act to strengthen separation between local police and federal immigration enforcement and to provide data‑privacy protections for immigrants who seek health care, schooling or shelter. Galeota also urged the board not to enter any parking agreement with GEO Group and recounted concerns about detainee care and visitor accommodations.
Whitney Strube, also of Newark, said she had been to Delaney Hall repeatedly and described incidents she said occurred there, including the deployment of chemical agents inside the facility and long outdoor waits for visitors. Strube asked the board to refuse any collaboration with GEO Group and to issue stronger public statements on immigration policy; she also asked for a written response from commissioners on the county’s position regarding humanitarian concerns abroad.
Susan Verchak of Maplewood echoed earlier speakers’ concerns about the company’s operations, certificates of occupancy and visitor conditions.
None of the public commenters recorded a direct response from commissioners on the transcript; commissioners did not debate or vote on a parking agreement or an Immigrant Trust Act resolution during the meeting. The comments were added to the record during the public‑comment portion of the meeting and commissioners did not announce any immediate administrative action in response.
