Newark mayor sues interim US attorney after arrest at immigration detention centre

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has filed a lawsuit against New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, accusing her of political retaliation after his controversial arrest earlier this month at a federal immigration detention facility.

The suit, which seeks damages for false arrest and malicious prosecution, comes just days before Baraka competes in a pivotal Democratic primary for governor

Baraka’s legal action targets interim US Attorney Alina Habba appointed under the Trump administration alleging she pursued criminal charges without cause after he attempted to join a lawful oversight visit to the Delaney Hall detention center alongside three Democratic members of Congress.

The charges were later dropped, but Baraka contends they were politically motivated and defamatory.

Citing a post on X in which Habba said Baraka “committed trespass,” the lawsuit says Habba issued a “defamatory statement” and authorized his “false arrest” despite “clear evidence that Mayor Baraka had not committed the petty offense of ‘defiant trespass.’”

The suit also names Ricky Patel, the Homeland Security Investigations agent in charge in Newark.

“This is not about revenge,” Baraka said during a news conference. “Ultimately, it’s about them taking accountability for what they did.”

The May 9 incident was captured on video, showing Baraka being led away in handcuffs after walking from inside the facility’s fence to a nearby street where demonstrators were gathered.

Bystanders can be heard shouting to protect the mayor as tensions escalated.

Initially charged with defiant trespass, Baraka saw those charges dismissed within two weeks.

However, Rep. LaMonica McIver who joined him at the facility was later charged with assaulting officers during the chaotic scene.

US Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa rebuked Habba’s office after moving to dismiss the charges.

“The hasty arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, followed swiftly by the dismissal of these trespassing charges a mere 13 days later, suggests a worrisome misstep by your Office,” he wrote.

Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility, opened earlier this year as a federal immigration detention facility.

Florida-based Geo Group Inc., which owns and operates the property, was awarded a 15-year contract valued at $1 billion in February.

The announcement was part of the president’s plans to sharply increase detention beds nationwide from a budget of about 41,000 beds this year.

His legal clash with the Trump administration is not new. Newark is one of four New Jersey cities targeted in a Trump-era lawsuit over so-called “sanctuary” policies local laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Baraka has defended those policies, saying they are meant to protect residents and uphold due process.

Then, on May 23, the Trump Justice Department filed a suit against Newark and three other New Jersey cities over their so-called sanctuary policies.

There is no legal definition for sanctuary city policies, but they generally limit cooperation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.

New Jersey’s attorney general has a statewide directive in place prohibiting local police from collaborating in federal civil immigration matters.

The policies are aimed at barring cooperation on civil enforcement matters, not at blocking cooperation on criminal matters.

They specifically carve out exceptions for when Immigration and Customs Enforcement supplies police with a judicial criminal warrant.

The Justice Department said, though, the cities won’t notify ICE when they’ve made criminal arrests, according to the suit.

It’s unclear whether Baraka’s role in these fights with the Trump administration is having an effect on his campaign for governor.

He’s one of six candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the June 10 election to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.

In a video ad in the election’s final weeks, Baraka has embraced a theme his rivals are also pushing: affordability. He says he’ll cut taxes.

While some of the images show him standing in front of what appears to be Delaney Hall, he doesn’t mention immigration or the arrest specifically, saying, “I’ll keep Trump out of your homes and out of your lives.”

Meanwhile, Trump has endorsed Jack Ciattarelli, one of several Republicans running in the gubernatorial primary. Ciattarelli has said if he’s elected, his first executive order would be

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