A leftist group has been fundraising to provide commissary funds to the so-called “hunger striking” detainees at ICE’s Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey, a Daily Wire investigation has found. Democratic lawmakers have decried the conditions inside the Newark facility, that include claims of worms in the food, as the reason for the purported hunger strike. Meanwhile, sales from the detention center’s commissary store have surged 161%, jumping from $11,498 on May 26 to $30,013 on June 1, according to internal data recently obtained by The Daily Wire. State inspectors visited the facility last week, reporting that the “overall sanitation and physical condition of the production kitchen and warehousing areas” was “satisfactory” and “free from signs of rodent or vermin activity,” NJ.com reported. The New Jersey-based SOMA Mutual Aid Collective, a coalition comprised of SOMA Action, SOMA Justice, and SOMA Shares, has raised more than $50,000 through its “Commissary and Communication Fund” during the supposed hunger strike. The coalition, which says it’s run by volunteers, raised roughly $68,000 as of the end of May and has now raised more than $120,000 to provide funds for detainees’ commissary accounts, according to The Internet Archive. “Right now, over 1,000 people are detained at Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, NJ — our friends, neighbors, and community members who have been taken by ICE and face deportation. In detention, men and women often purchase their own toiletries due to the poor quality of what they are given, along with staples like rice, noodles and sausage to make up for the frequent inedible food served,” the fundraiser website states. “The SOMA Mutual Aid Collective is working with other organizations on the ground at Delaney Hall to help fund commissary and communication accounts to those who need — and we urgently need your support. We are trying to keep up with every request for commissary account funding at Delaney Hall as well as those who have been sent to other facilities throughout the country — and that list continues to grow,” it adds. SOMA Justice was founded by Rutgers University professor Khadijah Costley White, who authored “The Branding of Right-Wing Activism: The News Media and the Tea Party.” The group says it seeks to fight “racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and other ideologies of power and oppression.” (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images) The SOMA umbrella asks contributors to “make a recurring donation of $55/month and help someone detained afford basic food and necessities they are being denied.” The beneficiaries of the funds, it says, are “immigrants whose lives have been upended by the current mass detention and deportation drive.” The donations also help pay for detainees to make calls to family members, lawyers, and friends, according to the fundraiser website. Any “excess” funds raised will help pay for legal aid and bonds to free illegal immigrants from ICE detention. View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Pax Christi New Jersey (@paxchristinj) Activist groups, like SOMA “are a cash cow for detainees,” former ICE New York Field Office Deputy Director Scott Mechkowski told The Daily Wire. “Shut off the free money and watch how fast they’re back in line for their trays,” he said. Protestors have demonstrated outside Delaney Hall for weeks, advocating for the facility’s closure. Some demonstrators have clashed with authorities outside the facility, resulting in dozens of arrests. Democratic New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said Monday that she “finally” toured the detention center “after being denied access for weeks,” but complained that her visit “was a closely controlled and limited tour of the facility.” “That is unacceptable,” she wrote on X. “I was not allowed to meet or speak directly with the detainees, which continues to raise serious questions about the real conditions of the facility and the treatment of those held there. I will continue to push to speak with the detainees directly. They deserve to be heard and the public deserves answers.” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin responded to Sherrill, saying he “personally granted” her access to Delaney Hall “as an act of good faith— despite you having exactly ZERO federal oversight authority.” “Of course, you’re still trying to turn Delaney Hall into a political football for the radical left. You were told BEFORE you went in you would not have the ability to speak to detainees. This is a federal facility, Governor. You are NOT federally elected,” he said. Mullin also suggested that Sherrill “spend more time” at state-run prisons, where he said the problems are worse. “Delaney Hall has 2x more medical personnel per detainee than NJ state prison, and at least 2x as much square footage. Detainees are also 2x more likely to die in NJ state custody,” he said. Gus Wilson contributed to this report.