For almost a week, demonstrators outside an immigration detention center in Newark faced federal agents using pepper balls and sprays. Witnesses and video footage have documented these confrontations, sparked by protests over conditions at the facility.

Governor Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, concerned about Newark becoming like Minneapolis, intervened by deploying state police to restore peace near the Delaney Hall detention center. Nonetheless, unrest persisted. Protesters clashed with barricades and set fires while state troopers, both on foot and horseback, tried to disperse the crowd.

This situation poses a challenge for police forces across the country, particularly in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York. These cities prohibit local police from assisting federal agents in civil immigration matters. Yet, the police must still prevent trespassing, traffic blockages, or vandalism, which sometimes leads to perceptions of collaboration with federal authorities.

New Jersey now faces a similar crisis. The most recent development saw Mayor Ras Baraka of Newark scaling back the city’s response, despite taking over security outside Delaney Hall earlier in the week.

Protests at Delaney Hall commenced a year ago when GEO Group, a major private prison operator, reopened the facility as a 1,000-bed detention center. Over the past five months, most demonstrations had been peaceful and uneventful, until recent escalations.