Four detainees escaped from a New Jersey federal detention center on Friday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“DHS has become aware of 4 detainees at the privately held Delaney Hall Detention Facility escaping,” the agency wrote in a statement to The Hill.
“Additional law enforcement partners have been brought in to find these escapees and a BOLO [be on the lookout] has been disseminated,” he added.
DHS is offering a $10,000 reward for those who come forward with information that leads to their arrest.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D-N.J.) said he’d heard reports of chaos at the Delaney Hall detention center and plans for an uprising on Thursday as protestors gathered outside the facility. Demonstrators eventually railed through barriers surrounding the premises drawing attention to frustrations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said constituents had previously reported issues related to food and water on site, according to the Associated Press. In early May, Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.), LaMonica McIver and Rob Menendez Jr. (N.J.) visited the facility to conduct congressional oversight amid concerns.
Afterward, lawmakers were told to disperse as protests bubbled outside the facility. A physical altercation occurred resulting in a federal indictment for McIver as federal officials allege she impeded and interfered with law enforcement officers, which she has vehemently denied.
The Delaney Hall detention site is managed by the GEO Group after their $1 billion contract with ICE was finalized in February.
GEO currently contracts with ICE for the provision of secure residential care services at 20 different facilities in the United States with a total capacity of approximately 19,000 beds, according to legal filings.
The company’s CEO said the company would invest $38 million to renovate existing facilities in addition to $16 million for additional GPS tracking devices and $7 million to expand their secure transportation fleet to help the Trump administration carry out mass deportation plans, according to a previous earning call transcript.