Four detainees at Newark ICE facility are missing, senior officials say
The detainees were being held at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been holding individuals who are facing possible deportation. The four people were unaccounted for Thursday night, and federal authorities were looking into whether they were still on the grounds of the facility, or had somehow escaped, senior officials said.
Chopper 4 was over the scene Thursday afternoon showing law enforcement and ICE agents canvassing the area.
The wife of one detainee told NBC New York she rushed over to Delaney Hall after she got a call from her husband about a lockdown in his pod and a protest about inhumane conditions at the detention center. The wife of that detainee said she was worried about her husband's safety.
A search was ongoing.
Local and state authorities were notified of the missing detainees, and some additional resources were called in to assist with the situation, according to the senior officials.
Delaney Hall made headlines in May after protests broke out at the 1,000-bed, privately owned facility.
Democratic U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver was charged in a criminal complaint with two assault charges stemming from a May 9 visit to the center. She was indicted on Tuesday; The indictment includes three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials.
By law, members of Congress are authorized to go into federal immigration facilities as part of their oversight powers, even without notice. Congress passed a 2019 appropriations bill that spelled out the authority.
McIver said in a statement that she had 'serious concerns about the reports of abusive circumstances at the facility,' and that her office had reached out to ICE for answers.
At the same visit that resulted in McIver's charges, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on a trespassing charge, which was later dropped. Baraka later filed a lawsuit against acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba over what he said was a malicious prosecution.
In a statement, Baraka expressed concern for what had transpired at Delaney Hall on Thursday, 'ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees.'
The mayor went on to say the situation 'lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail — including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights. This is why city officials and our congressional delegation need to be allowed entry to observe and monitor, any why private prisons pose a very real problem to our state and its constitution...We must put an end to this chaos and not allow this operation to continue unchecked.'
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Joe Rogan anoints a new progressive star – can James Talarico triumph in Texas?
In late May, four of Texas's top Democrats convened on Zoom to strategize about the 2026 election. The upcoming Republican primary battle for Senate pits incumbent senator John Cornyn against the state's more right-leaning attorney general, Ken Paxton, and is expected to be bruising – greasing the skids for a potential Democratic pickup. With governor, attorney general and lieutenant governor also in play, the question the liberal quartet aimed to answer was whether they might divvy up these contests, thereby avoiding a contentious primary of their own. On the call were three fixtures of Lone Star Democratic politics: Beto O'Rourke, Colin Allred and Representative Joaquin Castro. Less well-known was the fourth man, a 36-year-old member of the state's house of representatives from Austin's district 50 named James Talarico. A former middle-school language arts teacher and aspiring Presbyterian minister with the earnest demeanor and yearbook-ready countenance of a young Ron Howard, Talarico had begun his political career in 2018, flipping a swing district to become the youngest member of the house. A good bit greener than his colleagues, Talarico seemed an unlikely aspirant for the Senate run. Then along came Joe Rogan. The world's most influential podcast host had learned of Talarico from comedian Brian Simpson, who had been awestruck by a viral clip of the state senator taking a Republican colleague to task for her 'idolatrous' bill forcing public schools to display the Ten Commandments. A producer reached out, and within a few weeks the virtually unknown official was stepping into Rogan's Austin studio to offer his gloss on the radical teachings of Jesus. If the conversation was friendly – about two hours in, Rogan was practically begging Talarico to run for president – the reviews from Rogan's right-leaning, MMA-loving fanboys were less so. Many took particular issue with Talarico's reading of the Bible as arguably pro-choice or at least ambivalent about abortion. Even so, Daniel had entered the lion's den and held his own. Within hours of the show's airing, Politico was enthusing that 'Joe Rogan's Latest Guest Might Turn Texas Blue' and Talarico's beaming choirboy mug was front and center on the Drudge Report. 'I learned this when I flipped the Trump district at the beginning of my career,' Talarico said. 'It's almost like asking someone on a date, or any relationship in your life – you have to put effort into it. If we're not going to make the effort to show up in these places where people are, then we can't be surprised when they don't make the effort to get off the couch and vote for us.' The week marked a notable turnaround for a politician who just a few years ago hit what he calls his political 'rock bottom'. It was the fall of 2021, a year that had begun with the January 6 insurrection and a catastrophic winter storm that killed hundreds of Texans. Meanwhile, 'Maga' was ascendant in the Lone Star state. Officials rammed through the nation's most unforgiving abortion ban, legalized permitless carry and implemented a new civics curriculum Talarico describes as a 'historical whitewash'. Then came an aggressive attempt to curtail voting rights that led him and dozens of Democratic lawmakers to flee the state in an attempt to deny the legislature a quorum. After 38 days, Talarico was among a handful who saw the writing on the wall and returned to Austin. As he explained in a lengthy op-ed, Texas Democrats held a dwindling stack of cards, and Congress would need to address the problem at the federal level. (The House delivered, but the bill failed in the Senate due to opposition from senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema.) Despite Talarico's hopes that ending the standoff might preserve a modicum of bipartisanship, it was not to be. In October, the legislature voted to redraw the state's congressional districts – an attempt to dilute the political power of Black and Latino voters and 'kill me off politically', he said. 'Walking on to that floor and realizing that my [Republican] colleagues weren't looking me in the eye, I felt like I had lost hope, not just in my colleagues and the institution, but in whether democracy was even possible in such polarized and divided times. It was my lowest point in public service so far.' Overcoming an urge to pack it in, he opted to fight. As it happened, a seat in solid-blue Austin, where he'd grown up, was open. Talarico moved home and won handily. (Now, Texan Republicans are contemplating another redistricting as a way to further dilute the Democratic vote. 'Clearly their gerrymandering didn't hold from five years ago, and so now they're having to get back in there and do some touch-ups and fortifying,' Talarico said.) Following his crisis of political faith, he made another critical life decision, enrolling in the seminary with the goal of becoming a minister. 'Jesus gave us these two commandments, to love God and love your neighbor,' he explained, noting that he considers his political career a vehicle for doing the latter. Now he understood: the two injunctions went hand in hand. Getting in touch with God, 'or whatever you consider to be the ground of your being', is what Talarico says makes love of neighbor sustainable. 'Whether that's in public service, as a teacher or a nurse or a firefighter or a police officer, or whether it's with activism or volunteering or just being a good person in your community, it is difficult and sometimes exhausting work, and that's why we have to be connected to something deeper.' An outspoken progressive Christian is something of a unicorn in today's political environment – a sign not only of the secularism that has characterized the Democratic party since the Reagan years but of the ever-increasing ties between the far right and the evangelical movement. Perhaps nowhere is this alliance more pronounced than in Texas, where the last legislative session saw a flurry of bills that would, among other things, allow prayer in public schools, fund parochial schools with taxpayer money and outlaw the provision of litter boxes for students – an actual bill based on a debunked rightwing hoax. The latter proposal stalled after Talarico's polite if methodical humiliation of the bill's author became one of his many viral TikToks; the others, including the Ten Commandments bill, became law. Talarico has done more than simply oppose what he considers to be bad legislation. He regularly calls out fossil fuel barons Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, who backed the legislative crusade. 'They basically own every Republican member of the state senate,' he said, noting that they are by far the state's biggest political donors. 'They own a majority of Republicans in the state house. They own every statewide elected official. And they run a massive network of thinktanks and advocacy organizations and media outlets. So their empire has really taken over state government. And they have a pretty extreme theocratic vision for for the state and the country.' Asked whether a Handmaid's Tale-style dystopia seemed possible, he said, 'We're a lot closer than people think.' Talarico defines the effort to wed government with biblical ideology as Christian nationalism, 'the worship of power – social power, economic power, political power, in the name of Christ', as he put it in a 2023 guest sermon. Accusing adherents of turning Jesus 'into a gun-toting, gay-bashing, science-denying, money-loving, fear-mongering fascist,' he declared it 'incumbent on all Christians to confront it and denounce it'. Posted to YouTube, the sermon has since garnered 1m views. The question now is not merely whether Talarico can translate that kind of social media buzz into votes but whether he wants to. He expects to obtain his master's in divinity next year, and he often speaks of his desire to one day take over the ministry at his home church, St Andrew's Presbyterian. But a slight detour to the US Senate seems increasingly possible – an indication of his growing popularity and ambition as well as a notable vibe shift on the left. A recent poll found that 62% of Democrats wanted their party's leadership replaced. And a strong contingent has shown a hunger for candidates, such as Talarico, who are willing to lean into progressive values without apology (he has, for example, mounted a forceful defense of gender-affirming care for trans kids). While Talarico makes a strong case for the undercurrent of wealth redistribution inherent in Jesus' teachings, he doesn't call himself a socialist – certainly not in Texas. Still it's not hard to see parallels between his meteoric rise and that of New York City's socialist mayoral hopeful, Zohran Mamdani, another young state legislator whose online savvy, bold progressivism and evident sincerity have endeared him to liberal voters. (In 2019, Talarico walked across his 25-mile district – nearly double the distance of Mamdani's recent Manhattan hike.) For Talarico, the key to winning over the electorate is authenticity. 'Voters can sniff out that consultant-driven messaging,' he said. 'The poll-tested stuff is just not going to cut it.' Moreover, voters are spoiling for a fight. One quality they appreciated in Trump, he said, was the aggression he'd shown on behalf of his vision, however malevolent. Democrats, he said, need to bring that kind of energy to the fight for a better world. And while Jesus Christ was famous for his humility and pacifism, Talarico noted, he was also an uncompromising radical who could tap into a combative side when needed. 'If we are doing our best to mimic Jesus, being kind and humble and meek are all part of it,' he said. 'But when the powerful are abusing people, we have to stand in the way, and that requires courage and bravery, and speaking truth to power.' In late June, Talarico appeared at a town hall in San Antonio alongside Castro and O'Rourke, a show of unity before what may well turn into a heated primary race. Befitting his status as the youngest and least seasoned politician on the stage, he spoke first. But as Talarico recalled the story of Jesus's cleansing of the temple, when he ejected the money-changers and merchants from the Lord's house, he didn't sound like a man inclined meekly to wait his turn to run for higher office. 'To those who love democracy, to those who love our neighbors,' he proclaimed, 'it's time to start flipping tables.' As for the Senate race, Talarico is praying on it. He'll make a decision this summer, he said.
NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Gabbard's unprecedented claim: A president led a 'treasonous conspiracy'
President Donald Trump's top intelligence official appeared in the White House briefing room Wednesday to level allegations no U.S. spy chief has ever made against a former president or administration. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard accused former President Barack Obama and his deputies of manufacturing a 'false' intelligence analysis to show Russia tried to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election. Obama and former officials in his administration have dismissed the allegations as baseless. 'These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction,' Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said. Democrats have accused the administration of trying to change the subject as many of Trump's supporters have demanded the government release more documents and information related to the case of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Leaders of the country's intelligence agencies have tended to keep a low public profile and to steer clear of explicitly partisan broadsides, much less insinuate that a former president may have engaged in a criminal conspiracy. But Gabbard, serving a commander in chief who has relished conspiracy theories and insisted he was the victim of a partisan plot, ventured into uncharted territory in her White House appearance. 'There is irrefutable evidence that details how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false,' said Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman. Gabbard announced she had declassified a five-year-old report by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee about the 2016 election. The Republican report was emphatically rejected at the time by Democratic lawmakers on the panel who played no role in its creation. The Republican report sought to cast doubt on an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in a bid to boost Trump's candidacy. The Republican report found that the bulk of the 2017 intelligence assessment — which assessed that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to damage Hillary Clinton's candidacy — was 'sound.' But it took issue with the assessment's finding that Russian President Vladimir Putin 'aspired' to help Trump win the 2016 election. The House report argued that the intelligence agencies' judgment was based on one piece of human intelligence that was open to different interpretations. The report added that some CIA officers objected to including the judgment about Putin's intentions, arguing that the intelligence behind it was insufficient. The House committee report also accused the director of the CIA at the time, John Brennan, of pushing to keep the finding about Putin in the assessment. Bipartisan Senate report Gabbard focused on the Republican House report, but a bipartisan Senate probe released the same year reached a different conclusion. The 2020 Senate investigation, which spanned three years, involved more than 200 witnesses and reviewed more than a million documents, endorsed the intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia had spread disinformation online and leaked stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee to undermine Clinton's candidacy and bolster Trump's prospects. Trump's current secretary of state, Marco Rubio, was the acting chair of the Intelligence Committee at the time. He and every other member of the committee, both Republicans and Democrats, endorsed the report's findings. Gabbard's decision to declassify an old Republican congressional report is the latest in a series of actions by the administration designed to reopen a politically polarized debate about what happened in the 2016 election and whether Trump benefited from Moscow's information warfare. Satisfying neither side The intelligence community's analysis of the 2016 election and subsequent government investigations have never satisfied either side of the American political divide. Intelligence agencies never delivered a verdict about the possible impact of Russia's influence operations on the electoral outcome, and a probe by special counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia intervened in 2016 to undercut Clinton. But it did not find evidence of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump team and the Kremlin, as some voices on the left had suggested. At the same time, a special counsel Trump appointed in his first term, John Durham, disappointed activists on the political right with his three-year investigation. Durham reported finding no criminal conspiracy among Obama administration officials to fabricate intelligence about Russia's operations and filed no charges against the CIA officers who oversaw the 2017 assessment. Democrats said Gabbard's decision to declassify the Republican House report could put sensitive sources on Russia at risk. 'It seems as though the Trump administration is willing to declassify anything and everything except the Epstein files,' Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the Democratic vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. 'The desperate and irresponsible release of the partisan House intelligence report puts at risk some of the most sensitive sources and methods our Intelligence Community uses to spy on Russia.' In her presentation at the White House, Gabbard publicly described detailed Russian intelligence reporting on Clinton, including allegations about her behavior and health that had not been verified. Gabbard then blasted Obama administration officials for including an unverified dossier about Trump by a former British intelligence officer, Christopher Steele, in the 2017 intelligence assessment. The dossier was included in the assessment's annex with a disclaimer that said its claims had not been verified. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, called Gabbard's claims "a transparent effort to distract from bipartisan criticism of the Trump Administration's refusal to release the Jeffrey Epstein files." Himes added, though, that Gabbard had crossed a dangerous new rhetorical line. 'As part of her effort to rewrite history," he said in a statement, "she has accused President Obama and other former officials of engaging in a conspiracy to commit treason—a claim as dangerous as it is baseless.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
MLS commissioner defends ban on ‘political' signage at games amid Ice crackdown
MLS commissioner Don Garber defended the league's ban on political signage from fan groups but said that teams are allowed to make political statements in a press conference with reporters before the MLS All-Star game on Wednesday evening. Asked by the Guardian US to comment on protests and statements from MLS supporters' groups against Immigration Customs Enforcement (Ice) and the federal government's broader immigration crackdown, Garber said that the league's primary concern is keeping games safe for fans to attend. The commissioner said that ensuring fan groups do not unveil displays that are political in nature is part of that goal. 'We want to ensure that we're having displays that are not going to incite anyone,' Garber said in part. 'The best way to do that is to have the policy we have, which prohibits having political signage or anything to do with legislative acts on display in our stadiums. 'I understand and sympathize with those that are impacted by this. I grew up in a very diverse environment. We are a very diverse league, but we have to be very thoughtful about how we engage in this situation.' MLS has said in the past that it estimates around 30% of its fans are Hispanic. As Ice raids have taken place in public places across the country, numerous MLS supporters' groups have spoken out about how the current environment contributes to them feeling unsafe at MLS games. In May, Latino supporters of Nashville SC paused gameday activities due to Ice's crackdown, telling SixOneFive Soccer that they feel 'targeted', and the Athletic that they feel 'hunted' given the general environment in the state. In this past weekend's LAFC v LA Galaxy match, LAFC supporters unveiled a tifo reading 'Los Angeles unidos jamás será vencido' ('Los Angeles, united, will never be defeated') after Ice raids in the California metropolis that led to more than 2,700 arrests. As of mid-June, Ice data shows there were more than 11,700 people in immigration detention who had been arrested despite having no track record of being charged with or convicted of a crime. LAFC issued a statement about the Los Angeles raids, saying that 'today, when so many in our city are feeling fear and uncertainty, LAFC stands shoulder to shoulder with all members of our community'. At time of writing, they remain the only MLS team to have made such a statement. The LA Galaxy banned fans responsible for displaying anti-Ice banners at a recent game, with other supporters boycotting the match against LAFC in protest. Anti-Ice banners have also been seen in Austin, the site of Wednesday's All-Star game, Chicago and other markets. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion Asked whether he thinks the league has a responsibility to protect fans as Ice raids continue across the country, and how the league is thinking about this topic generally, Garber said: 'I don't think the league has the ability to serve as an entity to protect anyone. That being said, we want our stadiums to stay safe.' However, he said, 'if teams want to make a statement, they can. I don't think any team should be required to. Certainly the league is not, has not, and will not make a statement on this. We just want to continue to do whatever we can to ensure that our games are safe for all of our fans.'
