Federal officials are offering up to $10,000 in rewards for information leading to the arrest of each of the two people who escaped an immigration detention center in New Jersey last week.
Franklin Norberto Bautista Reyes and Andres Felipe Pineda Mogollon remain at large after escaping Delaney Hall, the center in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been holding people facing potential deportation.
NBC News quoted federal officials saying that Reyes, a Honduran national, was previously arrested on charges of local aggravated assault and possession of a weapon.
Pineda Mogollon, in turn, overstayed his visa after entering in 2023 and has previously been arrested on charges of local petty larceny and residential burglary charges.
The two other people who they escaped with last Thursday have been recaptured. They escaped after kicking through a wall that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the operator was not allowed to build. They then hopped a fence and left the premises.
"We encourage the public to call 911 or the ICE Tip Line: 866-DHS-2-ICE if they have information that may lead to the locating of these individuals," DHS said in a statement following the escape.
Delaney Hall has been at the center of controversy over Democrats' opposition to its use as an immigration detention center. In May, Baraka was arrested while protesting its opening. The incident took place days after ICE began housing migrants at Delaney Hall in Newark weeks earlier than expected and despite an ongoing legal battle with the city over permitting and safety compliance.
The facility, operated by private prison company GEO Group under a 15-year, $60 million-per-year contract, was originally slated to open in June.
The City of Newark filed a lawsuit in early April arguing that GEO Group failed to obtain proper permits. A spokesperson for ICE confirmed the opening but did not disclose how many detainees are currently being held at the 1,000-bed facility. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said that the facility has all permits needed and inspections have been cleared.
Delaney Hall's reopening also plays into a wider legal and political debate over private immigration detention centers in New Jersey. In 2021, the state passed a law barring such contracts, but a federal judge later struck it down, citing the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause. The matter is now under appeal.
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