Ras Baraka’s arrest draws strong partisan reactions as his N.J. primary opponents call for his release
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who is running for governor, was arrested at a newly opened immigration detention center in his city.
All of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s primary opponents came to his defense Friday after the Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor was arrested at Delaney Hall, a newly opened ICE detention center in Newark.
Republicans in the race took his arrest as an opportunity to go on offense.
Baraka has been protesting the 1,000-bed detention center’s opening with advocates this week. Witnesses said he was arrested after trying to join three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation who attempted to enter the facility, and a heated argument broke out when federal officials denied his entry, according to the Associated Press. The argument continued after he exited to the public side of the facility’s gates.
Republicans said Baraka was violating the law. Democrats said it was President Donald Trump‘s administration disregarding the law.
Alina Habba, Trump‘s former defense attorney and White House counselor who he appointed as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, said in a post on X that Baraka trespassed and “ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself” from the center.
Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.), said video footage showed the mayor outside the facility’s gates at the time of his arrest. Kim called his arrest “shocking” and called for Baraka‘s release, which occurred around 8 p.m.
U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer, who are both running against Baraka in the gubernatorial Democratic primary to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy, also called for their competitor’s release.
The governor did the same.
Murphy said he is “outraged by the unjust arrest” and that Baraka is “an exemplary public servant who has always stood up for our most vulnerable neighbors.”
A New Jersey law signed by Murphy in 2021 prohibited private and non-federal public entities from entering into contracts with ICE to detain immigrants. But in 2023 a federal judge ruled that the state could only bar public bodies, not private companies, from contracting with ICE to detain immigrants. An appeals court is considering whether to fully restore the law.
The GEO Group, a private prison company, announced in February that it received a $1 billion, 15-year ICE contract to run Delaney Hall. Baraka‘s administration has been trying to prevent the center from operating and accused the facility of not having proper permitting, which DHS refutes.
Baraka, whose political spoken word poetry is currently featured on Beyoncé’s tour, has unapologetically opposed Trump’s immigration policies.
» READ MORE: New Jersey's sanctuary status is at risk in the governor race
Response to Baraka‘s arrest falls along party lines in the gubernatorial race
Sean Spiller, the president of the NJEA public school union running in the Democratic primary, called on all the gubernatorial candidates to show up to Delaney Hall tomorrow “to join me in standing together in justice.”
“To see Mayor Baraka taken out in cuffs because he wants to see with his own eyes as the Mayor of Newark the conditions in Delaney Hall, that was wrong,” Spiller said.
“As an immigrant myself I see myself in those people being detained,” added Spiller, who was born in Jamaica.
Meanwhile, Republican candidate Bill Spadea called on all the candidates to condemn Baraka “and stand in solidarity with ICE, [Trump border czar] Tom Homan, Alina Habba and everyone working to enforce the law and end illegal immigration in New Jersey.”
He said the Newark mayor should be “embarrassed.”
Former Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, another Republican running for governor, criticized the schools, public safety, and airport in Newark and said the city’s mayor is busy “shilling” for undocumented immigrants. He called it “shameful” and “a cheap publicity stunt.”
State Sen. Jon Bramnick, another candidate in the Republican primary, said in a text message he is “not surprised” by Baraka‘s arrest.
“The tension was building up everyday,” he added.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who is competing against Baraka in the Democratic primary, said “Baraka had every reason to be there, and every right to demand accountability.”
Sherrill called Baraka‘s arrest an “absolute outrage” in a statement from her government office (not her campaign).
“The Trump administration’s decision to reopen Delaney Hall, a private, for-profit prison to detain immigrants won’t make New Jerseyans safer, and it won’t fix our broken immigration system,” she added.
Gottheimer, also in a statement from his official side, said it‘s “absurd” that Baraka was detained. Gottheimer is more conservative on immigration than other Democrats in the field and also opposes Delaney Hall.
Former State Senate president Steve Sweeney, another candidate who sits to the right of other Democrats in the race on immigration, similarly called for Baraka‘s release.
Sweeney said Trump‘s “disregard for the rule of law was on full display this afternoon” and that he has always known Baraka “to stand up and fight for what he believes in.”