Escalating violence outside a New Jersey immigration facility has prompted authorities to pull Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel from the scene amid intensifying confrontations.
Protesters were observed throwing rocks and engaging in brawls with federal officers at Delaney Hall, a privately operated detention center in Newark.
Activist groups opposed to ICE focused their demonstrations on the facility following claims that up to 300 detainees initiated a hunger strike to highlight alleged mistreatment and substandard conditions within the center.
The chaos left several ICE agents injured, including three officers bitten by an agitated protester on Thursday night. Additionally, a cinder block was hurled at an ICE vehicle, resulting in a shattered windshield.
On Friday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced on X that the protester responsible had been apprehended and charged. He emphasized a commitment to suppress violent protests.
“The Trump Administration will ALWAYS stand with our federal law enforcement officers,” Mullin declared, sharing photos of the officers’ injuries from the bites.
‘Anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.’
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said Friday that she was setting up designated protest zones and checkpoints outside the facility in response, saying officials ‘need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature.’
‘It has grown unsafe, and that’s completely unacceptable,’ Sherrill said.
Following Sherrill’s order, federal agents agreed to withdraw from the parking lot of Delaney Hall, which will allow state officials to oversee the demonstrations.
Chaotic protests outside a New Jersey immigration facility led officials to withdraw Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as the clashes threatened to spiral out of control
The melees escalated to several ICE agents being injured, including three officers who were bitten by a crazed protester on Thursday night
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin shared grisly pictures of the bites on X as he announced on Friday that the protester had been arrested and charged
The protests are scheduled to continue Saturday, with officials saying they will maintain a presence to keep agitators under control.
Sherrill said Friday that her administration ‘will be working together with community members, faith leaders, advocates and state police’ to keep people in the protest zones.
But while the Democrat said she was establishing ‘peaceful and protected’ protest zones, footage from Friday night showed clashes escalated into violence and arrests.
Footage on social media showed officers using smoke grenades and pepper spray to disperse the demonstrators, as horse-riding officers attempted to hold a perimeter.
Reports suggest a number of arrests were made on Friday night outside the facility, however the exact number has not been released by authorities. The Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also announced the arrest of a protester who was outside Delaney Hall on Thursday evening after he was caught on video threatening the lives of ICE agents and their families.
Blanche shared footage of the protester screaming ‘I’ll kill your whole f***ing family… your whole f***ing family is dead,’ as he told the Will Cain Show that he would find and prosecute the agitator.
Announcing the arrest on Friday night, Blanche wrote on X: ‘Told you.
‘(The FBI) just arrested the man who threatened to kill ICE officers and their families. FAFO [f**k around and find out].’
An ICE agent uses a chemical irritant as they clash with protestors outside of the federal immigration center at Delaney Hall
Reports emerged of several arrests following the clashes
Protesters and ICE agents have clashed outside the Delaney Hall detention center for days
Anti-ICE groups targeted the facility following reports that up to 300 detainees have gone on hunger strike to bring attention to alleged mistreatment and poor conditions in the detention center
State police officers stand behind shields as they deploy tear gas on Friday night
The protests at Delaney Hall followed reports that up to 300 detainees went on hunger strike over the past week.
The reported hunger strikes were said to be an attempt to bring attention to conditions inside the Newark facility.
The detainees allege that they have been mistreated and abused by facility staff and are being given maggot-infested food and poor medical treatment, according to WHYY.org.
Sherrill said she was denied entry when she tried to access the facility and said she supported the protesters’ cause but wanted to calm hostilities on Friday evening.
‘I am going to protect people’s right to protest peacefully and I’m going to ensure everyone’s safety, and I’m confident in New Jersey we can do both,’ the governor said.
The Democrat added that her priority is to remove federal immigration agents from her state’s immigration processes.
‘We really feel like adding ICE to the situation has made things less safe, and we’ve seen a surge now in ICE agents coming into the region, which has given us a great deal of concern,’ Sherrill said.
‘We are making sure that we give them no pretext for coming in here, clearing out the ability of people to actually raise their concerns.’
A demonstrator holds her hands up outside Delaney Hall on Friday
Democratic US Senator Andy Kim was tear-gassed at the protest outside the Newark facility on Monday
Earlier in the day, Governor Mikie Sherrill (left) expressed outrage over not being allowed inside the facility
Migrants in the facility claim that they have been served beans and salad with worms inside, have been placed in crowded rooms without air conditioning and have had their immigration cases ignored by federal judges, the New Jersey Monitor reported. Some have been there for a year.
Sherrill and New Jersey Senator Andy Kim, alongside several members of the state’s Democratic-heavy Congressional delegation, showed up to the building on Monday demanding answers.
As Kim was prevented from entering he was hit by pepper balls shot out by federal agents at the anti-ICE activists.
‘What we saw here is unfortunately just what we see all over the country,’ Kim told NJ.com, adding that he had trouble breathing.
Kim, who said earlier Monday the facility should be shut down ‘immediately,’ said before the melee broke out that he was trying to get the agents to stop pointing guns at protesters and broker a truce that would allow immigration activists to inspect cars leaving the facility.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security previously confirmed to the Daily Mail thatKim was allowed into Delaney Hall ‘to conduct his congressional oversight responsibilities.’
However, they slammed Governor Sherrill for allegedly making a difficult day for ICE and the facility even worse.
‘Governor Sherrill’s visit to Delaney Hall is nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day when visitation is currently suspended due to riots outside the facility,’ the spokesman told the Daily Mail.
They added that on Sunday, around 125 protesters surrounded the facility, ‘many carrying anti-ICE signs and Antifa flags’ and blocked all entries and exits.
Detainees have claimed they are being given bug-infested food and denied the right to contact their families, which officials at the center deny
The spokesman defended the treatment of those detained at the detention facility, saying: ‘All detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap and toiletries,’ adding that dietitians evaluate those meals.
The spokesman also said that those detained can communicate with family members and lawyers and called the conditions better than most American prisons.
‘It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. For many illegal aliens, this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.’
