Four detainees at an ICE detention center in Newark, N.J., have escaped, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Law-enforcement officials are currently attempting to locate the men, a senior official said.
DHS identified the escapees on Friday as Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes and Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, both from Honduras, and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada and Andres Pineda-Mogollon, both from Colombia. The men from Honduras had been arrested for assault and other crimes, and the men from Colombia were arrested for burglary and other crimes, the department said.
The attorneys for the men couldn't be immediately identified.
U.S. Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey, a Democrat, told reporters on Friday that the men escaped by knocking down a wall composed of drywall and mesh material. The escape occurred amid unrest among the detainees who weren’t receiving enough food and were subjected to other poor conditions in the detention center, he said.
Kim, who visited the detention center on Friday and received a briefing from officials, told reporters that the facility is undergoing a major security review to determine if other walls could be breached.
Immigration attorney Mustafa Cetin said that a client of his, held at the facility, called him on Thursday evening and said that the detainees were knocking things down and blocking security cameras. Cetin said his client reported seeing some detainees knock down a wall and escape.
DHS and GEO Group, which owns the private facility, said reports of widespread unrest at the jail were false. GEO Group said it is working with authorities to investigate the escape. DHS and GEO Group said the jail continues to provide access to medical care, in-person family visitation, and dietician-approved meals.
"The safety and security of the Delaney Hall Facility and our neighbors in the local community is our top priority," GEO Group said in a statement.
The New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice was at the facility on Thursday evening, the group said. Detainees reported not receiving meals from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and said they were denied family visitations, the group said.
"Less than a month and a half since this facility opened, we now have learned that there are chronic food shortages, undrinkable water, crumbling mesh walls, and inadequate staffing that led to the chaos that devolved yesterday," executive director Amy Torres said.
Delaney Hall detention center has become the site of a standoff between GEO Group and city officials and pro-immigrant groups opposing the operation of the jail. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat who is running for governor, was arrested at the facility in May after he attempted to inspect the facility at the invitation of members of congress.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey eventually dropped the trespassing charges against Baraka. mayor sued Alina Habba, the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey, is alleging false arrest, malicious prosecution, and defamation.
New Jersey Representative LaMonica McIver, a Democrat, was charged with two counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding law enforcement officers after attempting to enter the Delaney Hall detention center during the same incident where Baraka was arrested. McIver has said the charges filed against her were political and were intended to deter legislative oversight of the facility.
Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com and Robert Barba robert.barba@wsj.com
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