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NJ sues Delaney Hall operator for health department access to immigration detention center.NJ sues Delaney Hall operator for health department access to immigration detention center WASHINGTON (TNND) — New Jersey on Tuesday sued Delaney Hall operator GEO Group to allow the state health department full access to the immigration detention center in Newark.The New Jersey attorney general's office filed the lawsuit on behalf of the state Department of Health in Superior Court in Essex County, asking a judge to grant “immediate entry” to Delaney Hall for a full health inspection, The Hill reported.The lawsuit notes “significant concerns about public health conditions” at Delaney Hall, including unsanitary food and bathroom conditions, inadequate medical care and hygiene practices, overcrowding, and the “unchecked” spread of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19 and the flu.“Any facility housing people in New Jersey must meet basic standards under the law to prevent the spread of disease, keep food and water safe, and minimize health risks.That includes Delaney Hall,” New Jersey health commissioner Raynard Washington said in a statement.Last month, hundreds of Delaney Hall detainees launched a hunger and labor strike to highlight their living conditions, prompting a visit from New Jersey Democrats Sen.Andy Kim and Rep.Rob Menendez.The lawmakers said that the detainees were served rotten food and denied essential medical care, according to the lawsuit.“More specifically, Senator Kim recounted meetings with detainees, including one with a pregnant woman who said she is not receiving full obstetrics and gynecological care, and another with a woman who had a miscarriage but did not receive necessary care and was left to manage the miscarriage on her own,” per the complaint.Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has denied the existence of a hunger strike or any “subprime conditions” at Delaney Hall.State Department of Health inspectors attempted to gain access to Delaney Hall last week, but were only allowed into the food service area, according to the lawsuit, noting that they were barred from viewing the medical unit, bathroom facilities, ventilation, HVAC, and sleeping areas.“Without inspecting these areas, Plaintiff is unable to ascertain whether Defendant is taking sufficient precautions to mitigate the serious and unchecked risk of communicable diseases to both detainees at Delaney Hall and New Jersey’s public at large,” the lawsuit reads.New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport (D) argued that the GEO Group's decision violated a statute that grants the health department commissioner the right to “full access to any premises for the purpose of examination if he has reason to believe that on the premises there exists a violation” of the state’s health laws or sanitary code.“The reports of unsanitary and unsafe conditions inside Delaney Hall are extremely concerning, and GEO Group—like any other business and facility in New Jersey—must follow the law,” Davenport said in a statement.“I will continue working with Governor Sherrill and Commissioner Washington [to] ensure that people detained inside Delaney Hall are treated with dignity and humanity,” she added.GEO Group did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.Protests have been ongoing at the facility, causing New Jersey Gov.Mikie Sherrill (D) to deploy state police to maintain order and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) to implement a curfew around the immigration detention center.