‘Surprise’ Move From Homan Totally Debunks Dem Claims
White House border czar Tom Homan did not call ahead before walking into the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey over the weekend.
He simply arrived.
Homan moved through the facility methodically, visiting the medical unit, outdoor recreation areas, and indoor recreation spaces before making his way to the cafeteria.
Once there, he picked up a tray and sat down among the detainees.
“I made sure my tray equaled their tray,” Homan told Fox News following the visit.
What landed on that tray was spaghetti and meat sauce, beans, green beans, bread and rolls, a beverage, and dessert.
“The food was good,” he said flatly.
That assessment stands in stark contrast to what several prominent Democratic lawmakers have told the American public about conditions inside the facility.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler claimed detainees were being served food containing maggots, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement asserting his office had uncovered “unsanitary living conditions, lack of adequate medical care and unhealthy food” at Delaney Hall.
Homan addressed those claims without hesitation.
Beyond the food controversy, Democrats and activists have also pushed a separate narrative — that detainees inside Delaney Hall launched a hunger strike to protest conditions they described as inhumane.
Homan dismantled that claim as well.
“It’s all a false premise,” he said. “There was never a hunger strike.”
What investigators found, according to Homan, was that detainees were purchasing food through the facility’s commissary and consuming it inside their cells throughout the entire period the alleged strike was said to be underway.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed to the Daily Wire that the commissary had actually seen an “increase in sales and detainees maxing out on items they can purchase weekly” during that same window.
Former ICE New York field office deputy director Scott Mechkowski was direct in his assessment. “I’ve seen real hunger strikes during my time as an ICE official, managing detention facilities,” he told the Daily Wire. “What’s happening at Delaney Hall is not a hunger strike. When detainees are buying up Honey Buns and Snickers bars, and those with money are helping others get snacks, that’s not a hunger strike, it’s just a publicity stunt.”
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has called for the facility to be shut down entirely, a demand Homan addressed without reservation.
“That facility isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “We’re going to enforce the law. We’re going to detain people.”
Sherrill is not alone in that push. New Jersey Senator Andy Kim toured the facility and took to X to demand its permanent closure.
“What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful,” Kim wrote. “Delaney Hall is a failure; it’s this administration’s failure. The only way to make this right for our communities is to shut it down and make sure the failures we’ve seen never happen again.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has separately announced that the city plans to pursue legal action aimed at closing the center, pointing to health and safety concerns as the basis for the effort, News Nation reported.
Homan noted that a significant number of individuals currently held at Delaney Hall are subject to federal mandatory detention orders, meaning their confinement is required under existing law.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin testified before Congress that since Delaney Hall reopened in 2025, authorities have recorded zero health department violations at the facility.
Delaney Hall is privately operated by the GEO Group under a federal contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and holds an authorized capacity of up to 1,196 detainees.
He simply arrived.
Homan moved through the facility methodically, visiting the medical unit, outdoor recreation areas, and indoor recreation spaces before making his way to the cafeteria.
Once there, he picked up a tray and sat down among the detainees.
“I made sure my tray equaled their tray,” Homan told Fox News following the visit.
What landed on that tray was spaghetti and meat sauce, beans, green beans, bread and rolls, a beverage, and dessert.
“The food was good,” he said flatly.
That assessment stands in stark contrast to what several prominent Democratic lawmakers have told the American public about conditions inside the facility.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler claimed detainees were being served food containing maggots, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement asserting his office had uncovered “unsanitary living conditions, lack of adequate medical care and unhealthy food” at Delaney Hall.
Homan addressed those claims without hesitation.
Beyond the food controversy, Democrats and activists have also pushed a separate narrative — that detainees inside Delaney Hall launched a hunger strike to protest conditions they described as inhumane.
Homan dismantled that claim as well.
“It’s all a false premise,” he said. “There was never a hunger strike.”
What investigators found, according to Homan, was that detainees were purchasing food through the facility’s commissary and consuming it inside their cells throughout the entire period the alleged strike was said to be underway.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed to the Daily Wire that the commissary had actually seen an “increase in sales and detainees maxing out on items they can purchase weekly” during that same window.
Former ICE New York field office deputy director Scott Mechkowski was direct in his assessment. “I’ve seen real hunger strikes during my time as an ICE official, managing detention facilities,” he told the Daily Wire. “What’s happening at Delaney Hall is not a hunger strike. When detainees are buying up Honey Buns and Snickers bars, and those with money are helping others get snacks, that’s not a hunger strike, it’s just a publicity stunt.”
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has called for the facility to be shut down entirely, a demand Homan addressed without reservation.
“That facility isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “We’re going to enforce the law. We’re going to detain people.”
Sherrill is not alone in that push. New Jersey Senator Andy Kim toured the facility and took to X to demand its permanent closure.
“What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful,” Kim wrote. “Delaney Hall is a failure; it’s this administration’s failure. The only way to make this right for our communities is to shut it down and make sure the failures we’ve seen never happen again.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has separately announced that the city plans to pursue legal action aimed at closing the center, pointing to health and safety concerns as the basis for the effort, News Nation reported.
Homan noted that a significant number of individuals currently held at Delaney Hall are subject to federal mandatory detention orders, meaning their confinement is required under existing law.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin testified before Congress that since Delaney Hall reopened in 2025, authorities have recorded zero health department violations at the facility.
Delaney Hall is privately operated by the GEO Group under a federal contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and holds an authorized capacity of up to 1,196 detainees.
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