Four detainees escape from migrant facility in New Jersey

Four people being held at an immigration facility in Newark, New Jersey, have escaped, according to the US Department of Homeland Security.

A department spokesperson told the BBC that four detainees have gotten out of the Delaney Hall Detention Facility and "additional law enforcement partners" are helping search for them.

Their identites have not been released and details of the escapes are unclear.

There were reports on Thursday of unrest within the facility, where crowds of protesters have been gathering and the local mayor and congresswoman were recently arrested. Lawyers for detainees said that a group of migrants inside had started a revolt over a lack of food and other poor conditions.

The detention centre had then gone into a lockdown, the lawyers told US media.

One woman whose husband was being held at Delaney Hall told the BBC's US partner CBS News that a fight began at lunch because people had not been fed in 20 hours.

"He said they were breaking things, just trying to get anybody's attention, because they are constantly ignored," the wife told CBS. "I asked my husband what was his role and part in it, and he said, 'I'm hiding. I'm scared for my life.'"

Meanwhile, outside of the facility on Thursday night protesters pushed against barricades as vehicles came through the gates.

The Bronx Defenders legal group told the BBC that all legal visits with migrants held at Delaney Hall - including phone calls and virtual meetings - had been suspended until further notice.

Karla Ostolaza, managing director of the group's immigration practice, said lawyers had not been able to their clients on Friday and that she had reached out to immigration officials to check on clients' safety, but not heard back.

Delaney Hall is owned by the private prison company, GEO Group, which has a $1b (£735m) contract with the Trump istration to use the 1,000-bed facility as an immigration centre.

As President Donald Trump ramps up his immigration crackdown, the centre has attracted the attention of locals who say the government should be more forthcoming about how those being held there are treated.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement: "We are concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees".

Democratic Congresswoman LaMonica McIver said her office was "carefully monitoring" the situation, saying she had also heard reports of "abusive circumstances at the facility".

Baraka was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after a scuffle at Delaney Hall on 9 May, but a federal judge dismissed the case.

McIver was arrested and charged over her involvement in the incident. She denies wrongdoing and both say they had visited the facility in an attempt to enter and review conditions there.

The unrest at Delaney Hall comes as Trump has deployed thousands of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles during protests against his crackdown. Nearly 400 people have been arrested in LA since protests began a week ago.