Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said Tuesday that the private owner of an immigrant detention center lacks city planning board approval and a certificate of occupancy to open, and that his administration will file a lawsuit and padlock the building if necessary to block its opening without the necessary approvals.

Invited speakers include community leaders and families affected by mass deportation who spoke out against the reopening of Delaney Hall.

ICE says it’s opening its first new immigration detention facility under President Donald Trump’s administration, expanding its capacity to house detainees and easily deport them through a deal involving a privately owned jailhouse in Newark.

Delaney Hall, which previously housed immigrants from 2011 and 2017, will be the first facility to open under President Donald Trump's administration.

More than a hundred activists and protesters gathered outside a planned immigrant detention center in Newark on Tuesday afternoon as Mayor Ras Baraka

The Trump administration announced Thursday the opening of Delaney Hall for immigrant detainees. Officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said the 1,000-bed facility, located near Newark Airport and the Essex County Jail, will help manage mass deportation efforts by the White House.

Activists, families affected by mass deportations and elected officials all spoke at the rally, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.