{"id":1371,"date":"2026-06-06T13:06:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T13:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1371"},"modified":"2026-06-06T13:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T13:06:23","slug":"exclusive-lefties-call-delaney-hall-a-dungeon-but-inmates-enjoy-yoga-aromatherapy-and-other-amenities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1371","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Lefties call Delaney Hall a dungeon, but inmates enjoy yoga, aromatherapy and other amenities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Namaste, rioters. <\/p>\n

Forget the Dickensian tales of deprivation inside the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark.<\/p>\n

Read more Exclusive | Radical ringleader of anti-ICE mayhem at Delaney Hall is an ex-NJ early-childhood teacher<\/a><\/p>\n

Inmates are not only well fed and have use of computers and state-of-the-art gym facilities \u2014 they also can do yoga sessions complete with lavender-scented aromatherapy.<\/p>\n

When they\u2019re not striking downward dog poses, detainees also have access to \u201cfull soccer fields and an excellent gym,\u201d according to Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), who toured the facility this week.<\/p>\n

The lawmaker\u2019s visit came as protesters camped outside Delaney Hall, claiming detainees were being served rotten food amid inhumane conditions \u2014 a stark contrast to what Van Drew said he actually saw inside the controversial, 1000-bed facility.<\/p>\n

Van Drew, 73, called the fitness center \u201cway better\u201d than the one in his DC apartment building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got a squat machine, they\u2019ve got a machine for bench pressing. Also a fly, reverse fly. Leg machines, all the stuff you have in a real full-service gym,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said officials told him the detainees also get to do yoga. <\/p>\n

GEO Reentry Services, an arm of the private company GOP Group which runs this facility and others under $1 billion in government contracts, talked up Delaney\u2019s yoga offerings in a web posting.<\/p>\n

The workouts, held in the lecture hall, include \u201cmeditation and mindfulness sessions\u201d \u2014 and \u201clavender and tangerine aromatherapy to create a calming and invigorating environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

At each session \u201cresidents learn about the latest research about the benefits of aromatherapy and meditation at other facilities, including San Quentin, Folsom and Walpole,\u201d in reference to well-known lockups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of benefits,\u201d Alexis Giglio, a therapist who helped lead the class several years ago, told The Post. She said she surveyed inmates at Delaney about \u201chow they\u2019re feeling beforehand and how they\u2019re feeling after.\u201d<\/p>\n

A GEO Group spokesperson said the facility offered \u201cfitness and wellness programming focused on physical health and stress reduction,\u201d with dayroom areas providing room for \u201cadditional movement and individual exercise.\u201d It added that \u201cindoor leisure activities include dominoes, card games and special events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Drew was impressed by the food.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree good hot meals a day \u2026 from scrambled eggs to \u2014 I mean, all in one meal \u2014 to bacon and toast and muffins and fruit,\u201d said Van Drew, who himself often just noshes on pretzels for lunch. <\/p>\n

Special meals are prepared for diabetics, and those who keep kosher or eat halal, the lawmaker said.<\/p>\n

Read more Knicks fans go bonkers in NYC after Game 2 Finals win, celebrate in streets outside MSG: \u2018Go New York!\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNo worms anywhere \u2014 I didn\u2019t see a fly,\u201d Van Drew said. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole lot of countries in this world of ours . . . not eating as well as they are.?<\/p>\n

His observations contradicted claims by Rep. Jerold Nadler (D-NY) that there are \u201cmaggots in the food.\u201d Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) branded the conditions \u201cinhumane\u201d after his own tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really looked around kind of every nook and cranny. It was immaculate,\u201d said Van Drew.<\/p>\n

Detainees told him in brief conversations that they were \u201cgood.\u201d He got to briefly view an infirmary with a few people in it, and \u201call seemed fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

He toured separate sleeping areas for men and women, and both \u201clooked like they were doing great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a library. They have access to laptops, they have access to iPads,\u201d he said, along with legal references and regular books.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish that [in] every single nursing home. . . people were treated as well as these people were,\u201d said Van Drew, who chaired a prison gang task force when he was in the New Jersey state Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have groups of politicians that are using it as a political tool to further their ambitions,\u201d he said, during a week when the state of New Jersey sued demanding \u201cfull access\u201d by state health inspectors to Delaney.<\/p>\n

His firsthand observations follow tense clashes between ICE and protesters who were pooling resources for riot gear outside. <\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ), who got pepper sprayed outside Delaney when he visited a week before Van Drew, claimed the facility was plagued by \u201cunsanitary conditions. I saw food that was spoiled,\u201d including milk that was \u201ccompletely congealed.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Kim\u2019s initial take may have expired. <\/p>\n

\u201cSome of my colleagues that have been there more recently, as of yesterday, said that it seemed like that it\u2019s cleaner, that there are some improvements,\u201d he said, adding the bigger problem is detainees who were \u201cstuck there\u201d for eight or 10 months.<\/p>\n

None of the lawmakers who toured Delaney Hall were allowed to take pictures. But Van Drew is willing to do what it takes to prove conditions are decent.<\/p>\n

Read more Own a piece of Knicks history as our boys face the Spurs in the NBA finals<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI will do a lie detector test anywhere, anytime with anybody\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forget the horror stories: Delaney Hall ICE detainees in Newark are doing yoga with lavender candles, using computers and hitting a state-of-the-art gym, a congressman who toured the facility said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nExclusive | Lefties call Delaney Hall a dungeon, but inmates enjoy yoga, aromatherapy and other amenities - Metro Transit Review<\/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:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=1371\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exclusive | Lefties call Delaney Hall a dungeon, but inmates enjoy yoga, aromatherapy and other amenities - 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