Bearing Witness at Delaney Hall

On Sunday, May 31st, 2026, I participated in a vigil organized by the Immigration Coordinator of the Archdiocese of Newark at Delaney Hall. Delaney Hall is an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, operated by the prison company, GEO Group, under their contract with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The facility has a capacity for 1,200 immigrant detainees. In recent weeks, tensions escalated as detainees have protested to draw public attention to what they describe as inhumane conditions and violations of their dignity.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin opened our Rosary just outside those doors with the first sacred mystery, and quickly the power of this vigil and Rosary played out in real time. As I stood outside Delaney Hall, I found myself reflecting on two people whose witness has shaped my own: Mary, whose courageous yes changed history, and my father, whose faithfulness continues to guide me even after his death.

As we prayed, I became aware of a communion that stretched beyond those gathered outside and the hundreds detained within. I found myself sensing the presence of my beloved father, who died just eight months ago. Throughout my life, he was a witness to faithful discipleship, and in that moment I felt him near, carrying our prayers to God. Together, we entered the rhythm of the sacred mysteries, drawing near to the God who came among us in joy, suffered and died in solidarity with humanity, and rose again in hope. As we lifted up the families enduring separation and uncertainty, I was reminded that God does not abandon those who suffer and that, through Mary’s intercession, we are strengthened to remain faithful in difficult times.

Father Alex invited me to lead the final decade of the Rosary, reflecting on the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth. I opened by preaching about Mother Mary’s bold and courageous yes to God. (Shout out to my fellow Discerning Deacons – helping me to claim the pulpit in the streets!)  

I named how Mary is a catalyst for peace on Earth, the original diplomat who emphasized conflict resolution over force, calling all of us to embody a grounded conscience that does justice for the marginalized and vulnerable among us. Her words especially speak to the conscience of those with power, as she stands, always, with victims of violence and oppression. I felt she was near, close to those being held inside, close to the families enduring the agony of separation. 

The vigil was not an ending but part of a larger story that unfolded in the days that followed.  On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill agreed to meet with families for two hours in Jersey City at my parish of 13 years, Saint Aedan’s. She could have picked anywhere in New Jersey, but Governor Sherrill chose to go where there was a vibrant migrant ministry that could speak to the reality that families were facing day-to-day. 

That ministry is the fruit of my own “yes.”  In August of 2024, I heard the rhetoric that was dominating our national election and mentally prepared myself for the trying time ahead of us. I knew we couldn’t sit back. Our community didn’t yet know what ministry would be necessary or what it could do in our community, but I knew we had to respond. We began by listening. We met families, learned their needs, connected them with clothing and shelter, and walked alongside them as they sought to build lives of dignity and stability.

Two years later, this ministry is bearing fruit. We ensure that the cries of these families are heard: clearly, loudly, directly, into the ears of the mighty. The courage to say yes to that work was not mine alone. It was shaped by people who taught me what faithfulness looks like, including my father.

In the days following Governor Sherrill’s encounter with families at St. Aedan’s, and amid growing scrutiny of conditions at Delaney Hall, the Governor announced that she would be increasing funding for the Detention Deportation Defense Initiative by $12 million, for a total of $20.2 million. New Jersey would also launch a Rapid Legal Response Initiative to expand statewide legal capacity for emergency immigration defense and support for immigrant families across the state. After glaring failures to respond to the requests from those on strike in Delaney Hall, we are starting to pivot course in New Jersey, to ensure that our migrant siblings receiving due process under the law, and more New Jersey attorneys will now be mobilized to stand up for the fundamental human rights of detainees and their families. 

My thoughts keep returning to my own father. I know not even death can separate us. But it was the first time since his headstone was finally installed that I had the courage to go there physically. So I went to thank him. As I prayed by his grave, I heard a piano playing the prayer of St. Francis. Make me a channel of your peace… where there is hatred let me sow love. 

We do not have to fully understand how it will all work out before we say yes; we can, like Mary, ponder the questions in our heart. 

Our vigil was not a display of Catholic piety. It was an act of witness. Standing outside those gates, praying with families and advocates, we proclaimed our belief that God is present among those who suffer and that the cries of the marginalized matter. Like Mary, we do not need to know how every story will end before saying yes. We are called simply to trust, to accompany, and to bear witness. God is already at work. Our task is to join in that work with courage, compassion, and hope.