Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested for trespassing while protesting at a federal immigration facility last week, said Monday during a televised gubernatorial debate that his actions were “absolutely” an effective way to protest the president’s immigration clampdown.
Baraka has denied he did anything wrong despite federal authorities arresting him for trespassing at the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark on Friday.
During Monday’s debate among Democrat candidates in New Jersey’s open governor’s race, he doubled down on the assertion he did nothing wrong.
“We haven’t interfered with federal law enforcement,” Baraka said early on in the debate when moderators turned their questioning to Friday’s incident at the ICE detention facility in Newark. “We didn’t go down there to protest. We actually went down there to have a press conference. And the Congress has oversight. And they began to exercise their oversight. It was escalated by Homeland Security. They made an arrest because they got a call to do so. And that’s what happened.”
WHO IS THE DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ARRESTED FOR TRESPASSING AT AN ICE DETENTION CENTER?
Baraka’s arrest occurred during a protest at Delaney Hall attended by three members of Congress, who said they were in attendance to perform their congressionally-mandated oversight duties related to federal detention facilities. The three lawmakers were outside the facility with a group of protesters when the gates opened to allow an ICE bus in. The lawmakers then rushed through the gates and past security, according to officials from the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrest came as activists had been calling for access to the facility for days, which is a privately run facility that was revamped as an immigration detention facility this year.
“We’re not asking for anything that’s incorrect. We ask them to obey our laws,” Baraka said after the incident. “To obey the policies and rules here in the city and the state of New Jersey, not to run roughshod over the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Fourteenth Amendment and everybody on this soil who deserves due process.”
NEWARK MAYOR SPEAKS AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM HSI FACILITY
Newark, N.J., Mayor Ras Baraka speaks during the Democrat gubernatorial primary debate on May 12, 2025. (Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool)
During Monday night’s debate, the other gubernatorial candidates were asked if they thought Baraka’s tactics were “effective” the same way he does and whether they would have done things differently. While, for the most part, all the candidates tip-toed around the question, instead choosing to tout their bona fides in supporting immigration and challenging President Donald Trump, some did express support for Baraka.
“I’m not saying I would do anything differently,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the four-term Democrat representing the state’s 11th Congressional District. “I don’t think the mayor was trespassing. In talking to my congressional colleagues, he was invited in. They asked him to leave, he left, and then he got arrested.”
New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer, left, and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka discuss issues at the New Jersey Democrat gubernatorial primary debate on May 12, 2025. (Steve Hockstein/NJ Advance Media via AP, Pool)
“Ras didn’t do anything wrong,” Steve Fluop, the mayor of Jersey City and another candidate for New Jersey governor, said in direct response to the moderators’ question about whether they agreed with Baraka’s tactics.
The rest of the candidates did not directly answer the question before the moderators moved on to the next topic.
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Defensemen Max Wanner was re-assigned to the Maine Mariners from the Providence Bruins on Thursday. Defenseman Michael Underwood was also re-assigned to Maine.
Wanner, 22, was acquired by the Boston Bruins when they traded Trent Federic to Edmonton last March. He played in 15 games for the AHL Providence Bruins at the end of last season, and seven this season.
Underwood returns for his second stint with the Mariners. He appeared in 67 games with Maine last season.
Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday that the state is spending an additional $250 million to limit premium increases for residents who have insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector.
After Congress let Affordable Care Act tax credits expire at the end of last year, more than 300,000 people in Massachusetts have been facing a potentially steep increase in their health care bills.
The governor’s office said those enrolled in ConnectorCare who make below 400% of the of the federal poverty level, which is $62,600 for an individual or $128,600 for a family of four, will see “little to no premium increases.”
Under the plan, Healey’s office said a 45-year-old couple with two kids in Fall River will see their monthly health insurance costs rise from $166 to $206. Without the new funding, the governor says they would be paying $452 a month.
“While President Trump continues to increase health care costs, we are taking the strongest action in the nation to address them and keep costs as low as possible for families,” Healey said in a statement. “Despite this increased state investment, far too many people will still see their premiums increase because of the White House.”
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to approve a three-year extension of the health care tax credits. While it appears unlikely to pass the Senate, senators have talked about a compromise plan that could include a two-year extension with added reforms. President Trump hasn’t offered a specific health care plan, but said subsidies going to insurance companies should “go to the people” instead.
The $250 million is coming from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund, which gets its money from employer medical assistance contributions and financial penalties from residents who violate the state’s health care insurance mandate.
Massachusetts residents can sign up for health insurance coverage or switch their Health Connector plans until Jan. 23 if they want to be covered by Feb. 1.
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