I love the start of a new month. Not just because I compete with my kids to see who remembers to say “rabbit rabbit” first, but because a fresh page on the calendar always fills me with a little extra optimism. June is one of my favorites: the home stretch of the school year, ball games, and Pride Month, which means celebrations across the country — including the 50th edition of this iconic festival. It’s also the season when I dust off the grill, though it sounds like rising prices are changing up a summer favorite. If that’s the case, I may branch out and throw some of these alternatives on the barbecue instead. (My Greek grandfather would have been intrigued by number two.) One person who might not share my enthusiasm for June? This guy. Now, let’s get to the news…
— Marina Carver / Senior Editor / Brooklyn, NY
Immigration
Hall of Contention
What’s going on: The latest battleground for immigration reform isn’t near the northern or southern US borders — it’s in Newark, New Jersey. The city is home to Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed detention center that's become emblematic of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) severe immigration policy. Hundreds of detainees began a hunger strike in May objecting to poor conditions and inadequate medical care, according to reports. Tensions escalated this weekend when protesters clashed with police outside the facility. In response, New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill (D) enacted a protected protest zone near the center, while Newark mayor Ras Baraka (D) enforced a curfew. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin has only been in the role for two months, but Delaney Hall is quickly becoming his first major test. (Hint: It’s not going well.)
How bad is it?: Depends on who you ask. Advocacy groups say nearly 300 detainees are involved in the strike, while DHS disputes that number and insists the facility provides three meals a day and comprehensive medical care. Mullin, meanwhile, is denying the hunger strike altogether. He claims a few people aren’t eating because they want their “ethnic right food,” telling them to “go back to their country” to eat “whatever food they want.” The two sides disagreed about whether claims were properly investigated: The governor says state health inspectors weren’t allowed full access to the facility to review the allegations, while Mullin says they were. The conflicting accounts have only fueled calls from Sherrill and other Democratic lawmakers to close the center, which already faced criticism for detainee deaths and escapes.
