Water testing brings scrutiny at ICE detention center in Newark

Hannan Adely

NorthJersey.com USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY

At the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark, where concerns persist about compliance with building and safety standards, advocates are raising alarms about a potential risk from tap water.

Community health advocates, prompted by detainees’ complaints of illness and rashes, tested a sample of faucet water from inside the facility. It showed the presence of lead and other heavy metals, they said, sharing results with The Record.

Drawn from a single source, the results on their own are not conclusive, said Norma Bowe, a nurse with a PhD in community health. But they are significant enough to warrant further testing, she said.

“There is no safe level of any of these heavy metals,” Bowe said. “They cause organ damage, kidney and liver failure, neurological problems, cardiovascular issues, cancer.

“Metals are cumulative. We know that by studying fish. We know it

accumulates over time. They are drinking it, breathing it and bathing in it,” she said.

The GEO Group, a private prison corporation, opened Delaney Hall as a detention facility for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May. Its contract is valued at $1 billion to provide 1,000 beds over a 15-year period.

Some detainees and their family members have alleged subpar conditions at the facility, including inadequate food and health care and “foul-smelling” water — allegations that the GEO Group has denied. Advocates and lawmakers renewed calls for scrutiny of Delaney Hall after a 41-year-old detainee died on Dec. 12.

Responding to concerns about water quality, a GEO Group spokesperson fired back that the allegations were “politically motivated.”

“GEO strongly rejects these allegations, which are meant to criticize the quality of our services,” said GEO Group spokesman Christopher Ferreira. “Our dedicated staff strive day in and day out to provide the highest possible standard of care on behalf of the federal government for all individuals in our care.

“These allegations are part of a politically motivated effort to interfere with federal immigration enforcement by attacking the federal government’s contractors,” Ferreira added.

What the testing showed

Bowe runs the Global Grace Mobile Clinic, a program of the Reformed Church Affordable Housing Corporation, which provides health services to underserved communities. The clinic visits Delaney Hall on Saturdays, offering medical screenings, health information and groceries to families visiting detainees.

At the mobile clinic and in conversation with detainees, Bowe and other immigrant advocates said they have fielded complaints of “foul-smelling” water and recurring health issues.

“I would say anyone who has visited our medical clinic after visiting loved ones, we have heard over and over and over, at least 80% tell us about nausea, vomiting and diarrhea,” she said. They also report skin rashes and abdominal pain, she said.

Bowe, a professor of public health with experience testing water and other environmental matter, obtained water samples from a faucet in the restroom in the visitation area of the facility. Bowe, working with volunteers, said she followed scientific standards for temperature control and contamination prevention.

Testing by Garden State Laboratories, an independent lab certified by the state Department of Environment Protection, found the presence of arsenic, chromium, cadmium, mercury and lead in a sample.

Global Grace’s own testing, conducted with a strip kit, showed similar results, including lead at 20 parts per million and copper at 0.5 ppm. They also tested and found bacteria and fluoride sulfate and chlorine at levels above EPA standards. Health experts say no amount of lead in drinking water is safe.

“Lead is a toxic metal that can be harmful to human health even at low exposure levels,”the Environmental Protection Agency says in its guidance. “Lead is persistent, and it can bioaccumulate in the body over time.”

The EPA’s “action level” for lead is 10 parts per billion, triggering actions like public notice and corrosion control. The action level for copper is 1.3 ppb.

Lead in water is linked to high blood pressure, kidney damage, reproductive problems, and memory and concentration issues, according to the EPA. High levels of copper can cause gastrointestinal distress such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps or, in the long term, liver or kidney damage, the agency also has warned.

'Open the door' to testing

Global Grace’s testing did not provide enough information to make definitive conclusions, Bowe explained, saying that additional testing is needed.

“It needs to be replicated and done professionally by something like the EPA,” Bowe said. “I’m hoping it’s enough to cause them to have to open the door and be testing.”

“The EPA should have to go in. Bottled water should be provided to the detainees,' she said. 'Water for cooking, bathing and drinking needs to be from a freshwater source. And I think detainees need to be medically evaluated for heavy metal exposure.”

The GEO Group did not respond to questions about whether it used any internal filtration system or made any upgrades to the internal water system.

Newark made national news starting in 2016 after high levels of lead were found in its water, prompting a citywide pipe replacement program. But lead pipes, outlawed in Newark in 1953, were not used at the site where Delaney Hall now stands, according to Newark’s Department of Public Safety Information Office.

Delaney Hall relies on the public water system that meets safety standards, said a report shared on the city’s website. But contaminants in groundwater can enter a property though corroded or cracked plumbing or subpar fixtures.

Ferreira, the GEO Group spokesperson, did not address the demands for additional testing.

“The Delaney Hall Facility operates under ICE’s National Detention Standards, which provide comprehensive guidelines regarding water quality including requirements that water quality follow federal and state drinking water regulations,” Ferreira said.

ICE inspects Delaney

Newark has not directly received complaints about the water quality at Delaney Hall, Mayor Ras Baraka said.

“Any legitimate testing would have to be done with DEP/EPA collection and sampling to ensure the source and validity of the sample,” he said.

Still, Baraka said he was concerned about the findings of the Global Grace Mobile Clinic, and that institutions must adhere to state and federal water quality guidelines.

'The welfare of the detainees at Delaney Hall, and all residents and visitors to Newark, is important to me and our administration, and health and safety are top priorities, always,” he said.

The city of Newark has sparred with the GEO Group over the detention center, the first opened in Trump’s second term as part of a massive expansion of immigration detention. A total of 855 people were detained there as of late November, federal data shows.

In April, Newark sued the GEO Group for failing to obtain city permits, refusing city inspectors and allegedly violating local codes for renovations. The GEO Group argued that it does not need city inspections as a federal government contractor and that it is covered by a certificate of occupancy granted under a previous property owner.

Newark’s Health Department was able to inspect the facility in May. Inspectors found minor violations at Delaney Hall that were corrected at the time of the inspection, NJ.com reported.

The inspection was limited, said Susan Garofalo, a spokesperson for the mayor, with no food preparation done during their visit. Detainees have reported instances in which food was frozen, spoiled or insufficient.

ICE did its own inspection of its facility in August. It found 12 deficiencies including for improper storage and inventory of hazardous chemicals and improper food storage — potato salad kept at 81°F. Overall, Delaney Hall passed ICE’s inspection with a rating of acceptable/ adequate.