“They can’t do anything—it’s like they’re kidnapped there. We, their family members, want to help, but it’s not in our hands.”

Relatives of immigrants detained at the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in New Jersey say they are increasingly concerned about the wellbeing of their loved ones as a hunger and labor strike over alleged conditions inside the center enters its third week, drawing protests, political scrutiny and competing claims from detainees, government officials and the facility’s private operator.

At the center of those concerns is Elder Guerra, a Guatemalan immigrant who has been held at Delaney Hall for nearly five months while contesting his deportation case. According to a family member who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, Guerra suffered a serious fall in mid-May while showering inside the facility.

The relative said Guerra slipped, struck the back of his head and lost consciousness before experiencing a seizure. Other detainees reportedly urged guards to seek emergency medical assistance before Guerra was transported to a hospital.

He was later returned to Delaney Hall and placed in a medical isolation unit.Nearly three weeks after the incident, the relative said Guerra continues to experience severe headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light, fatigue and hearing problems in one ear.”He needs medical attention.

He’s not in an adequate place to recover,” the relative said.The case has become one of several cited by detainees, advocates and family members who accuse authorities and facility operators of failing to provide adequate medical care and humane living conditions at Delaney Hall, a detention center operated by the private prison company GEO Group under contract with federal immigration authorities.

The facility has become the focus of mounting controversy since detainees launched a hunger and labor strike on May 22. Participants say the action was prompted by concerns over medical treatment, food quality, sanitation, drinking water and living conditions.

According to a letter released by detainees on May 31, those held inside the facility described what they called conditions “not fit for human beings over such a long period of time.”The letter alleged medical neglect, contaminated drinking water, expired food, unusable bathrooms and poorly maintained ventilation systems that detainees claim have contributed to frequent illness.

The detainees also demanded faster processing of immigration cases, the release of elderly and sick detainees, a meeting with New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and an end to what they described as pressure from immigration officials to sign deportation documents.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to detailed requests for comment cited in the report.As attention surrounding the facility has intensified, demonstrations outside Delaney Hall have expanded.

Protesters have accused federal authorities and facility staff of mistreating detainees, while law enforcement agencies have responded to demonstrations with crowd-control measures that have included pepper spray, tear gas, arrests and the use of Tasers, according to accounts from participants and observers.

Family members arriving for visits described emotional encounters with relatives held inside the detention center.Guerra’s relative said his detained family member repeatedly pleaded for assistance during a recent visit following the accident.”He kept telling me, ‘Help me.

I need to leave here,'” the relative said.The emotional strain has extended beyond those detained. Family members interviewed outside the facility described anxiety, frustration and uncertainty as they navigate changing visitation rules while attempting to support relatives facing immigration proceedings.

Christopher Castro, who traveled with his mother from Long Island to visit his father, said detainees were increasingly seeking legal avenues to secure release.”My dad told me that a lot of people inside are pushing their lawyers to get them out,” Castro said after a visit.

Many families expressed concern that participation in the hunger strike could result in retaliation. Several detainees have reportedly chosen not to join the protest because they fear transfers, disciplinary measures or adverse effects on their immigration cases.

Those concerns have been amplified by allegations contained in detainees’ public statements.In their latest letter, strike participants claimed that since the protest began they had faced intimidation, discrimination and threats from both facility staff and immigration authorities.

Detainees alleged they had been threatened with deportation, transfer to other detention centers and placement in disciplinary housing units.GEO Group rejected those allegations.”GEO strongly refutes these allegations,” a company spokesperson said, stating that the facility provides around-the-clock medical care, legal and family visitation, translation services, religious accommodations and meals approved by dietitians.

The company referred questions regarding individual detainee cases to federal authorities.The dispute over conditions at Delaney Hall has unfolded amid broader national debate over immigration enforcement policies and detention practices.Federal officials have frequently described those arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as serious offenders.

However, a recent review of ICE data conducted by Syracuse University researcher Austin Kocher found that the overwhelming majority of detainees held at Delaney Hall had no criminal convictions.According to Kocher’s analysis of mid-March detention data, approximately 88% of detainees held at the facility had no criminal conviction, while more than 70% had no criminal history at all.

Among those with convictions, many were associated with relatively low-level offenses.The findings have become a focal point for advocates who argue that public portrayals of immigration detainees often differ from available government data.

The controversy has also drawn the attention of elected officials. Oversight visits conducted by members of Congress and state officials have reportedly identified conditions consistent with complaints raised by detainees and their advocates.

One of the most visible activists connected to the protests is Gabriela Soto, whose husband Martin was detained at Delaney Hall before being transferred to another ICE facility. Soto said visits to the detention center motivated her to become involved in organizing demonstrations.”Once I started going to the visits and started seeing these people tell their stories, it made me so angry that they don’t have a voice,” she said.

Soto cited reports from detainees alleging spoiled food and unsanitary conditions as key reasons for her activism.Federal officials have repeatedly rejected allegations that detention conditions at Delaney Hall are inadequate.

The Department of Homeland Security has denied claims that detainees are being held in what it describes as “sub-prime” conditions and has similarly disputed comparable allegations involving other immigration detention facilities.Delaney Hall occupies a significant position within the federal detention system.

Operated by GEO Group, the largest private prison company in the United States, the facility is covered by a contract valued at approximately $1 billion over 15 years.For many families, however, the political debate remains secondary to concerns about loved ones inside the facility.

Guerra’s relative said he has hesitated to return for another visit after learning that visitors were being asked to provide identifying information before entering the center. He remains focused on securing medical treatment and legal assistance for his detained family member.”What is happening is inhumane,” he said. “They should have mercy. They’re human beings.”

Dela Rosa, a former national police chief and one of the principal architects of Duterte’s war on drugs, has remained inside the Philippine Senate building for a third consecutive day after Senate leaders blocked attempts by authorities to serve an ICC arrest warrant.

The senator, widely known by his nickname “Bato,” faces accusations of crimes against humanity, specifically murder, alongside Duterte and other alleged co-perpetrators linked to the anti-narcotics crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead.
“I am not appealing for violent support.

I am appealing for peaceful support,” Dela Rosa told reporters, urging military personnel and fellow graduates of the Philippine Military Academy to publicly oppose any move by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration to surrender him to international authorities.

Outside the Senate complex in Manila, approximately 500 riot police were deployed as several hundred demonstrators gathered to demand Dela Rosa’s arrest and extradition to the ICC. Protesters described him as a central figure in the deadly anti-drug campaign launched during Duterte’s presidency.

Dela Rosa served as Philippine police chief from 2016 to 2018, overseeing the early and most intense phase of Duterte’s crackdown on narcotics. Human rights organizations and international investigators have alleged that many of those killed were low-level drug suspects and users.

Duterte himself was arrested in March last year and transferred to The Hague on the same day, where he remains in detention awaiting trial before the ICC.

Dela Rosa had largely avoided public appearances since November before resurfacing this week during a Senate vote that enabled Duterte-aligned lawmakers to secure leadership control of the chamber.

The Senate’s new leadership has stated it would permit Dela Rosa’s arrest only if directed by a Philippine court rather than solely on the basis of the ICC warrant.

A spokesperson for Marcos said on Tuesday that the president would not interfere in Senate decisions regarding the matter.

The Philippine Supreme Court has yet to rule on Dela Rosa’s petition seeking to block the government from enforcing the ICC arrest order.

The Home Office is appealing against the High Court’s earlier decision that the 2025 ban on Palestine Action was disproportionate to the threat posed by the group and should be revoked. The government had outlawed the organization days after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in southern England and caused millions of pounds of damage to two military aircraft during protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

Under the ban introduced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, Palestine Action was added to a proscribed list that includes Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, making membership or public support for the group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison under British terrorism laws.

Government lawyer James Eadie told the court that the earlier ruling had wrongly assessed the balance between civil liberties and public protection, arguing parliament had already determined the measure was both necessary and proportionate.“The protection of national security and of the public from terrorism was central” to the decision, Eadie said in written submissions.

He told the court that judges had failed to properly consider parliament’s judgment that the ban was “both effective and appropriate,” adding that ordinary criminal law had “demonstrably failed” to prevent an escalation in the group’s activities.

“The line between criminality, sometimes violent criminality, and terrorism is not a bright one,” Eadie said, arguing Palestine Action was “not engaged in what can be properly described as merely civil disobedience.”He said the group met the statutory definition of being involved in terrorism under British law.

The ban triggered strong criticism from civil liberties advocates and pro-Palestinian campaigners, with thousands of supporters reportedly arrested since its introduction.In February, a three-judge High Court panel ruled in favor of a legal challenge brought by Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, finding that the prohibition had caused a “very significant interference” with rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action says its objective is to end what it describes as global complicity in Israel’s actions in Palestinian territories.

The group has primarily targeted weapons manufacturers, particularly facilities linked to Israeli defense company Elbit Systems.The appeal hearing is scheduled to conclude on Thursday.

Large crowds gathered in major cities including New York, Washington, Dallas and Los Angeles, while organizers said nearly two-thirds of events took place in smaller communities, marking a sharp expansion beyond urban centers.

The protests come months ahead of November’s midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.The rallies, the third in a series since last year, follow earlier demonstrations that drew millions of participants. Organizers linked the surge in turnout to opposition against Trump’s immigration crackdown, U.S. involvement in the Iran conflict, and broader concerns over democratic institutions.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, a key focal point amid immigration enforcement tensions, thousands gathered outside the state capitol. Governor Tim Walz told demonstrators their actions reflected “compassion” and “democracy,” while Senator Bernie Sanders warned against what he described as a drift toward authoritarianism.

In New York, actor Robert De Niro, one of the rally organizers, addressed a crowd stretching across multiple city blocks, saying no previous U.S. president had posed a comparable threat to civil liberties.

Musician Bruce Springsteen performed at the Minnesota event, debuting a protest ballad criticizing federal immigration actions.Participants cited a range of concerns, including deportation policies and recent military operations involving Iran.

Demonstrators in Washington gathered on the National Mall with pro-democracy slogans, while smaller groups, including elderly residents in Maryland, staged roadside protests urging resistance to what they termed “tyranny.”In Dallas, clashes broke out between demonstrators and counterprotesters, including a group linked to Enrique Tarrio.

Police reported several arrests after minor scuffles and street blockages.Authorities in Los Angeles also detained multiple individuals after protesters refused to disperse near a federal facility, with law enforcement deploying tear gas after objects were thrown.

Democratic support for the protests, describing them as extreme, while organizers defended the rallies as peaceful expressions of dissent.political stakes riseThe protests coincide with declining approval ratings for Trump, which fell to 36 percent, the lowest level since his return to office, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Organizers say participation is rising even in traditionally Republican states, signaling broader political engagement ahead of the midterms.Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the Indivisible movement that organized the protests, said suburban districts critical to national elections are seeing heightened activity, reflecting growing mobilization among opposition voters.

The demonstrations were also framed by organizers as a response to ongoing military action involving Iran, now in its fourth week, adding a foreign policy dimension to domestic unrest.

Shah, 35, was appointed by President Ram Chandra Paudel after his Rastriya Swatantra Party won nearly two-thirds of seats in the 275-member House of Representatives in the March 5 polls, giving him a strong parliamentary mandate.

A political outsider popularly known as Balen, Shah faces the immediate challenge of addressing widespread dissatisfaction with Nepal’s traditional political parties, which voters have blamed for entrenched corruption and prolonged instability.

He rose to prominence during the September unrest that brought down the government, aligning himself publicly with largely youth-led protests that reflected growing generational discontent, although he did not directly participate in demonstrations.

The oath-taking ceremony in Katmandu incorporated Hindu and Buddhist rituals, reflecting Nepal’s religious traditions. The ceremony included “shankhnaad,” or the blowing of conch shells, alongside chanting by priests and lamas, as Shah took office with members of his newly appointed cabinet.

Religion and astrology continue to influence public life in Nepal, where auspicious timing is often observed for major events, including political ceremonies.

Trained as a structural engineer, Shah first gained national attention as a rap artist before entering politics and winning the mayoral election in Katmandu.

His rise from cultural figure to national leader has reshaped Nepal’s political landscape, particularly among younger voters.