Newark mayor says feds tried to 'degrade' him during ICE arrest court appearance
Newark mayor in court after ICE facility arrest
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka appeared in court following last week's arrest at an ICE detention center. FOX 5 NY's Antwan Lewis has the story.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka accused federal prosecutors of attempting to humiliate him during a court appearance over trespassing charges stemming from his Friday arrest at the newly opened Delaney Hall ICE facility.
Baraka, who is also running for New Jersey governor, said prosecutors tried to "degrade" him by asking for his mugshot and fingerprints.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka makes a speech to press members after appearing in federal court for a status conference after his arrest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility last week in front of the Federal Court in New Jersey, Uni
What happened at Delaney Hall?
The backstory:
Baraka faces a trespassing charge that carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in prison.
The charge arose from his arrest during a protest at the Delaney Hall immigration detention center, which is run by private prison operator Geo Group.
Baraka attempted to join three New Jersey congressional representatives - Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman - in entering the facility. Video footage shows Baraka being denied entry and later arrested by ICE agents, despite his claim of remaining on public property.
The Democratic mayor's legal team is challenging the charge, arguing that his arrest by federal agents on private property constitutes a jurisdictional defect. They also claim selective prosecution, noting that Baraka was the only individual arrested during the protest.
The other side:
Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, present at the procedural hearing, did not speak, but Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Demanovich stated the government's position that Baraka's actions were unlawful.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday decried the "spectacle" at the detention facility, calling it a "new low for congressional Democrats." He said Republicans are discussing possible disciplinary action, including censuring the three Democrats or removing them from House committees.
Court confusion
What we know:
The court hearing, presided over by Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa, primarily focused on scheduling for discovery in the case. Confusion arose when the judge indicated that Baraka needed to be processed by the U.S. Marshals Service, despite Baraka's assertion that he had already been processed after his arrest.
Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark walks past Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents standing near a gate to Delaney Hall, a newly converted immigrant detention centre, during a protest near the facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey May 7, 2025. (Photo
The judge clarified that while agents had processed him initially, the marshals had not. Baraka complied with the request, though he expressed frustration at what he perceived as an attempt to degrade him.
Addressing supporters outside the courthouse, Baraka maintained that his actions were lawful and in defense of constitutional rights, both federally and within New Jersey.
"They’re trying their best to humiliate and degrade me as much as they possibly can," he said. "I feel like what we did was completely correct. We did not violate any laws. We stood up for the Constitution of this country, the constitution of the state of New Jersey."
The Source: This article uses reporting from the Associated Press.