Kim, the senator, said he heard about problems related to food and an odor in the water. Kim added that it seems as if there will be “major movements” of detainees out of the facility soon. He said he was seeking “full confirmation” about that.

DHS, which oversees ICE, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Reports of inmates not getting enough food

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat who’s been critical of Trump’s immigration crackdown, early Friday called for an end to the “chaos.”

In a phone interview, Baraka pointed to the city’s lawsuit against GEO Group and said it didn’t have the proper city permits to operate. The company has said it had certification from the city from an earlier contract.

“It’s one chaotic moment after the next,” Baraka said.

In a statement Friday, American Friends Service Committee said people inside the facility reported getting small portions of food, with breakfast at 6 a.m., dinner at 10 p.m. and no lunch.

In a statement, GEO Group said it was dedicated to “providing high-quality services to those in our care.”

Miguel Orea, program manager for First Friends of New Jersey and New York, a non-governmental organization that provides assistance to detained immigrants, was at Delaney Hall on Friday and saw families trying to visit detainees being turned away.

“Delaney Hall is in a strict lockdown,” Orea said. “They’ve suspended all visitation until at least next week.”

He said families who have been in contact with detainees told him the cafeteria is being used to hold people who will be transferred elsewhere, affecting the meal service. Orea said the complaints began after the facility opened in May.

“The families have told us that the conditions were extremely poor, that the food service was poor,” Orea said. He noted that in some cases detainees would receive breakfast at 8 a.m. and dinner not until 10 p.m., with no other meal in between. In some cases, he said, they received only two slices of bread.

Newark was one of four New Jersey cities sued by the Trump administration this year over so-called sanctuary policies.

There is no official definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities. The terms generally describe limited local cooperation with ICE, which enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but sometimes seeks local help.

The policies are aimed at prohibiting cooperation on civil enforcement matters, not at blocking cooperation on criminal cases. They carve out exceptions for when ICE supplies police with a judicial criminal warrant.

Asked whether Newark was helping with the four escapees, Baraka said it was a federal investigation.

A nationwide crackdown

ICE housed more than 53,000 people nationwide at the end of May, according to its latest public figures, which is well above its budgeted capacity of about 41,000 and approaching all-time highs.

Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said late last month ICE should make at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from Jan. 20 through May 19, when the agency made an average of 656 arrests a day.

Delaney Hall has been the site of clashes this year between Democratic officials who say the facility needs more oversight and the administration and those who run the facility.

Baraka was arrested May 9, handcuffed and charged with trespassing. The charge was later dropped and Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver was later charged with assaulting federal officers stemming from a skirmish that happened outside the facility. She has denied the charges.

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