Protests outside Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, escalated Monday after Governor Mikie Sherrill was denied access to the premises. ICE agents equipped with riot gear arrived in the afternoon and began removing protesters blocking the entrance. Demonstrators were demanding transparency regarding detainee treatment.
As tensions rose, some protesters hurled objects at agents who responded with pepper spray. The crowd strengthened efforts to form a human chain at the exit of Delaney Hall, causing agents to push back in attempts to clear a path for a military-style vehicle. Despite efforts, protesters persisted, and violence ensued.
“You see how much they are trying to hide what’s happening here, intentionally trying to do that,” Senator Andy Kim commented, after being allowed inside the facility with a congressional delegation amid the chaos.
Protests, led by relatives of detainees upset over alleged poor treatment and inadequate medical care since Friday, expanded Monday with new groups joining. Protesters resorted to creative measures, moving concrete slabs and barricades to block another entrance to the facility; some gathered materials from dumpsters.
Earlier in the day, Governor Sherrill joined the protests when they were less confrontational but was refused entry to the facility. “My request for access to Delaney Hall was formally denied this morning, raising serious questions about what they are trying to hide from public view,” she stated.
Governor Sherrill stands against private detention facilities, vowing to fight the expansion of mass detention facilities in New Jersey, including a proposed site in Roxbury. While at Delaney Hall, she met with family members, including Gabriela Soto, a pregnant woman seeking the release of her husband. Soto alleged that officials misled her husband, telling him of his supposed release only for him to be forcefully transferred to a van.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson countered Soto’s allegations by stating that her husband, an alleged illegal alien charged with assault, faced a scheduled transfer to another ICE facility, obstructed by agitators. DHS criticized Governor Sherrill’s presence as a political stunt, exacerbated by visitation suspensions due to riots.
“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,” said a DHS representative.
Representatives, including Kim who fulfilled congressional oversight duties within, supported detainee welfare claims against ICE’s transparency. Congressman Robert Menendez Jr. expressed distrust toward ICE’s statements on detainee conditions, even with assurances of provided food, water, and healthcare.
Timeline of Protests at Delaney Hall:
- Friday: Hunger strikes by approximately 300 detainees and external protests claim inhumane conditions.
- Saturday: Protests continue. Senators Kim and Menendez visit the facility.
- Sunday: Gabriela Soto moves to prevent her husband’s van from leaving, suspecting retaliation for her activism. The van, allegedly holding her husband, was intercepted by protestors. ICE claims to have reassigned her husband to Elizabeth Contract Detention.
- Monday: Early morning confrontations arise between protesters and ICE agents. In the morning, representatives Menendez and Mejia continue to guard the facility gates alongside other politicians, challenging ICE transportation efforts.