Gubernatorial candidate and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s campaign has directed more than $500,000 to a consulting firm owned by his brother in 2025

The mayor has been in conflict with immigration officials ever since the privately owned facility opened in Newark.

A group of Burlington County Democratic leaders, led by Willingboro Mayor Samantha Whitfield, has endorsed Ras Baraka for governor in the June 10

The state’s US Attorney Alina Habba on Friday confirmed Baraka’s arrest, saying he “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey this afternoon.

Tom Martello writes a regular column about the 2025 race for New Jersey governor. Brent Johnson writes the subscriber-only newsletter What Makes Jersey Run. They combined forces in the aftermath of Ras Baraka‘s arrest by ICE agents Friday in Newark. And just like that, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is the most talked-about politician in New Jersey.

News of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest outside of a newly reopened migrant detention center made news across the country, and the controversy is set to