New Jersey’s governor says that she was denied access to a detention center on Monday. In a statement released on May 25, Gov. Mikie Sherrill explained that her request to go into Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, was denied. “I came today to hear from families and advocates, and what I heard from them was heartbreaking,” Gov. Sherrill wrote in a statement. “The people inside Delaney Hall are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and members of our community. In New Jersey, we believe in the rule of law and that everyone deserves to be treated with basic dignity. We have a duty to safeguard the rights, health, and well-being of everyone within our borders.” Gov. Sherrill was the first sitting governor to visit the private detention center and said she is pushing to have it closed. Delaney Hall has been the site of a protest and hunger strike for several days. In response, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement that they “debunks” the governor’s claims. “This is nothing more than a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks. There is NO hunger strike at Delaney Hall. There are NO subprime conditions or abuse at the facility,” Acting Assistant Secretary for DHS Lauren Bis said. “These sanctuary politicians should be thanking ICE law enforcement for removing murderers, rapists, pedophiles and drug traffickers from their communities. We need these sanctuary politicians to stop peddling this garbage and cooperate with us to get these criminals out of their state. These types of smears are contributing to our officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they remove the worst of the worst.”   ...read more read less