‘Clean up your own backyard': GOP torches Democrats after prison tour shocker

🔒 Assembly Republicans tour Trenton prison, point to state-run problems amid Delaney Hall fight
🏛️ GOP lawmakers say NJ should fix its own prisons before criticizing ICE facility
👮 Staffing shortages, aging cells and drug concerns found during State Prison visit

For weeks, New Jersey politicians have been locked in a public battle over conditions at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark. Now, Assembly Republicans are turning the spotlight toward a prison the state actually controls.

On Monday, a group of Republican lawmakers toured New Jersey State Prison in Trenton and emerged arguing that the debate over Delaney Hall has become more political theater than policy discussion. They said conditions they observed inside the state's only maximum-security prison raise questions about why so much attention is being focused on a federal facility while longstanding problems persist in a state-run institution.

New Jersey has no legal authority over Delaney Hall. It does control conditions inside state correctional facilities.

Trenton State Prison (Google Maps)

GOP lawmakers contrast Trenton prison conditions with Delaney Hall debate

Assemblymen Robert Auth, Greg Myhre, Michael Inganamort and Paul Kanitra toured the nearly 190-year-old prison. According to a news release issued by the Assembly Republican caucus, lawmakers observed aging infrastructure, staffing shortages, inmate complaints about food quality and what they described as the smell of illicit drugs in portions of the facility.

"If politicians are going to make claims about conditions inside correctional facilities, they should be willing to inspect all of them," Auth said. "State government has complete authority over New Jersey's prisons. If we're serious about oversight, we should start with the facilities we actually run."

Kanitra said many of the cells he saw were smaller than basic American Correctional Association recommendations and noted the prison is operating with a staffing shortage of roughly 300 correctional officers. He summed up the Republican argument bluntly: "Clean up your own backyard before you lecture anyone about a federal one."

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 30: Police clash with protesters outside the federal immigration center at Delaney Hall on May 30, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. Despite the state police taking over security outside, the protests, which have become increasingly tense, come amid reports of an ongoing hunger strike by detainees. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Staffing shortages and aging infrastructure at New Jersey State Prison

Opened in 1836, New Jersey State Prison is approaching its 190th anniversary. Republicans said the age of the facility was evident throughout much of the complex, including housing units without air conditioning and infrastructure that has deteriorated over decades.

Inganamort said the visit reinforced concerns raised during recent Department of Corrections budget hearings.

"The men and women working inside this prison deserve a tremendous amount of credit," he said, calling for modernization of the facility and more aggressive recruitment of correctional officers.

Delaney Hall becomes latest front in New Jersey immigration politics

The prison tour comes as Gov. Mikie Sherrill and other Democrats continue pressing for answers about conditions inside Delaney Hall. Sherrill has criticized what she called a tightly controlled tour of the Newark facility and said being denied access to detainees raises questions about conditions inside.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin sharply criticized New Jersey officials, accusing them of exploiting the controversy for political gain and micharacterizing conditions at the ICE detention facility in Newark. (Getty images/TSQ illustration)

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has repeatedly responded by pointing to conditions in New Jersey's own correctional facilities.

That back-and-forth underscores how Delaney Hall has become more than a debate about detention conditions. It has evolved into a broader political proxy war over immigration, law enforcement and government accountability. Republicans used their Trenton prison visit to challenge what they view as selective outrage. Democrats argue scrutiny of Delaney Hall remains warranted because of allegations raised by detainees and advocates.

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