Four detainees have escaped from a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey, which has been the center of protests since its opening in May and where both a sitting congresswoman and Newark’s mayor have been arrested.

About 50 inmates at Delaney Hall, the ICE detention facility in Newark, banded together and pushed down the wall of a dormitory room when meals were hours late, a lawyer told NJ Advance Media.

The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them.

The Trump administration is tapping 41 companies to compete for contracts in his $45 billion push to expand immigration detention centers. They include private prison operators, tent companies and disaster relief providers.

Lawmakers told USA TODAY they have been denied entry in California and New York as the Trump administration increases quotas to detain migrants.

Federal authorities moved Jennifer Rodriguez to a detention center in Texas for roughly two months ahead of potential deportation to her native Colombia. Ultimately, she was released and returned

Adrian and Paola Clouatre were attending a customs appointment in New Orleans when she was arrested by ICE agents last month. Now her husband is speaking out.

DHS has revealed the identities of the four migrants who escaped a Newark ICE facility on Thursday night, identifying each as “public safety threats" who are still at large.