ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A group of armed federal immigration agents surround a struggling man and hoist him off the ground. A baton-wielding officer swings his weapon and takes lunging kicks at a protester. A man in a MAGA hat faces a crowd of anti-ICE demonstrators and yells that he "doesn't give a f***!" These video clips are among the footage that has been captured over the past week as a standoff between demonstrators and federal officers continues to rage outside Delany Hall in Newark.
A total of eight protesters have been arrested so far. Two anti-ICE demonstrators were arrested Tuesday and accused of spraying officers with an “unknown chemical substance.” Six more arrests took place on Wednesday night after several protesters allegedly threw objects at law enforcement officers – and local police “refused to help,” federal authorities say.
The 1,000-bed prison is the first federal detention center to open under the second term of President Donald Trump. Delaney Hall has seen a wave of controversy since then, including allegations of poor treatment of detainees and visitors, several arrests involving demonstrators, federal charges against the city’s mayor and a U.S. congresswoman, a high-profile prison escape, and a detainee who died in federal custody. Its owner, the GEO Group, is one of the largest private prison companies in the nation.
Detainees at the federal immigration detention center launched a hunger strike last week, alleging that they are facing “inhumane” conditions including bad food, medical neglect, overcrowding and an unfair court system. They also refused to comply with the GEO Group’s “$1 a day work program.”
Delaney Hall detainees continue to demand their freedom, including the immediate release of elderly, young and pregnant people, as well as those with serious medical conditions.
Homeland Security officials and the GEO Group have denied the allegations of mistreatment.
“No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States,” a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Patch.
The standoff has also caught the attention of President Trump, who dismissed the protesters and claimed that the United States runs the “finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.”
Family members and immigration advocates have been holding rallies and protests outside Delaney Hall since the hunger strike began. Meanwhile, federal officers are standing guard over the prison and its gates.
Activists say the situation has turned violent, with multiple reports of pepper spraying, baton-wielding and crowd-shoving being shared online. The people who have allegedly been sprayed include a local pastor and U.S. Sen. Andy Kim. Others have been “roughed up,” including a nurse who was allegedly shoved to the ground and a military veteran who was tackled to the ground while providing medical care to other demonstrators.
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The clash ignited late Sunday evening, after the wife of a detainee reported that ICE was planning to move her husband to a different facility as retaliation for helping to lead the hunger strike.
In response, community members assembled outside the detention center and blocked entrances to stop the transfer of any detainees. Several vehicles were prevented from leaving the facility, activists reported.
Demonstrators reported that ICE agents blocked off the portion of Doremus Avenue in front of the center around 1:30 a.m. on Monday. The agents allegedly used pepper spray and batons against protesters before removing their barricades.
Video footage from the scene shows a tense confrontation between protesters and federal agents, with some demonstrators being forcibly dragged out of the roadway.
Others can be seen forming human chains and pushing back against lines of ICE agents.
The situation has attracted attention from elected officials including Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who was denied entry to the prison on Monday.
Several Congress members, including U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, also went to the site in attempt to defuse tensions. As Kim and others tried to negotiate with protesters and ICE agents, shoving matches broke out. Videos shared on social media show agents spraying people in the face.
ICE vehicles left Delaney Hall amid the chaos, but it was not clear whether they had detainees on board or not. Demonstrators later barricaded the entrances and exits at Delaney Hall with concrete blocks, traffic cones and other items, videos show.
Kim was among those who were treated for pepper spray exposure. He reported that civilians were tackled and restrained, and agents fired pepper balls and spray into the crowd.
“Instead of engaging with me and others about the poor conditions, ICE sent in an armored vehicle and a line of armed agents that only poured gasoline on the fire,” the senator said.
The Department of Homeland Security responded to reports of Kim's pepper spraying, claiming that nobody at the scene was directly hit by pepper ball projectiles.
"Officers issued multiple lawful verbal commands for rioters to clear the area," Homeland Security spokespeople said. "Rioters refused to follow law enforcement commands and continue to obstruct the exit route. Our law enforcement followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property."
The chaos has played out in real time on social media, with some decrying the actions of ICE officers and others criticizing the protesters.
Outrage hasn’t been the only emotion expressed by demonstrators. Some protesters have taken a different approach, imploring authorities to “do the loving thing” as they call for change at Delaney Hall.
While the majority of civilians at the scene have been supporting the detainees and their families, pro-Trump supporters have also been spotted outside Delaney Hall, including a man in a MAGA hat who stood in front of ICE officers and shouted angrily at protesters, and a woman in an ICE hat who urged demonstrators to "get the f*** out" if they don't like America.
Other New Jersey residents continue to call for the controversial prison to be shut down, however, including U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a Newark resident.
On Wednesday, the senator became the latest Congress member from New Jersey to make an oversight visit to Delaney Hall. According to Booker, he spoke with dozens of detainees, who described inadequate access to medical care, substandard food, no ability to visit or communicate with their families, and "abysmal living conditions."
“I believe that most Americans, if they saw who is being held and the conditions under which they’re detained, would agree that this facility is a moral stain on our nation,” Booker said. “In fact, the majority of the people I spoke with have no criminal history–no charges, no convictions–related to the kind of violence Donald Trump promised Americans he would target.”
Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have also pushed back against the claim that most of the immigrants imprisoned at facilities like Delaney Hall are “criminals.”
In April, data research organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that out of 60,311 people held in ICE detention across the nation, about 70.8 percent had no criminal conviction before being apprehended – and many of those who do were convicted only of minor offenses such as traffic violations.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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