Why does it take a phalanx of police officers to escort a three-person media crew away from immigration detention center Delaney Hall? How accurate must the reports be of maggots in food, no medical care for a pregnant detainee, undrinkable water and just general inhumane and un-American treatment? How questionable were the intended actions against protestors going to be that police wanted the press completely out of the line of sight of the facility? The importance of preventing one media outlet from broadcasting outside the center at 10 p.m., when the number of protesters had reportedly dwindled, would be comical were it not so bone chilling.

The governor of the state of New Jersey, where Delaney exists, is not permitted entry. Moreover, because Delaney is privately owned, The GEO Group appears to be within its rights to prevent entry to anyone other than those enabled by statute to enter, i.e. elected officials of the United States Congress. So, we wait for more members of Congress to provide information the facility owners will not permit news media to disseminate first hand.

Hopefully, Congressional reports will shame someone into providing adequate medical care and sustenance to those inside. No one should expect it to be the shareholders of The GEO Group, but perhaps it could be the next Congress passing laws preventing detention centers for profit in the first place.

Of course, the country first has to succeed in electing a new Congress different than the largely passive one the electorate has had for the last 17 months. The show has no chance of changing without a turnover in cast members and writers. Members of Congress are both.

No analysis or commentary on the situation can provide insight on a situation steeped in secrecy. All the news media can securely report is that there is a brewing Minneapolis showdown now on the East coast. As with every scandal that hurts our collective hearts, the people can do nothing without knowledge first.

Every politically active voter should be calling on his or her representative and senator to make their own trip to the facility and report back to constituents ahead of the election. The president and the Republican party continue to lose ground in the latest polls and will perhaps continue to do so ahead of the midterms with reports about Delaney Hall – whether cameras can broadcast from the site or not.