New Wave Of Anti-ICE Clashes At NJ Prison Ends With Arrests

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Several anti-ICE protesters were arrested while rallying against a controversial immigration prison in New Jersey’s largest city last weekend, sparking another round of heated reactions from demonstrators, police and elected officials.

For the past three weeks, a series of clashes between protesters and law enforcement have been taking place outside Delaney Hall in Newark.

Homeland Security spokespeople have accused protesters of attacking ICE agents. New Jersey state authorities – who temporarily stepped in and took over policing duties from the feds – have also alleged that some demonstrators have gotten violent. The site is now under the control of the Newark Police Department.

Protesters and advocates have disputed the accusations from authorities, saying that ICE agents, state police and local cops have been the aggressors – and claiming there is video footage online proving it.

Meanwhile, detainees inside the prison are allegedly facing “inhumane” conditions such as a lack of medical care, bad food and an unfair court system – claims that prison and Homeland Security spokespeople have denied. Detainees continue to demand their freedom, including the immediate release of elderly, young and pregnant people, as well as those with serious medical conditions.

Delaney Hall formerly held immigration detainees for the federal government from 2011 to 2017 under the Obama administration, until it closed and was turned into a halfway house. The prison was the first federal detention center to reopen under the second term of President Donald Trump.

Its owner, the GEO Group, is one of the largest private prison companies in the nation.

WEEKEND CLASHES, ARRESTS

A new wave of arrests took place on Saturday and Sunday, with at least eight more protesters taken into police custody, authorities reported.

Social media posts have shown some of the confrontations that took place last weekend. Videos posted by @ScooterCasterNY show demonstrators blocking vehicles from entering the prison with their bodies. Footage also shows Newark police declaring that an “unlawful assembly” is taking place and pushing up against a line of protesters when they refuse to disperse.

According to the Newark Police Department, six people were arrested after they were seen committing property damage and blocking the entrance of the prison – a tactic that protesters have been using in an attempt to prevent the transfer of detainees.

“At that point, an unlawful assembly was ordered, as blocking the entrance is a public safety hazard that puts everyone – including the detainees – in danger,” Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr. said.

“These individuals refused to comply,” he alleged.

The list of arrestees included residents of Hoboken, Bordentown and Old Bridge, as well as Brooklyn, NYC; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Riverside, Connecticut. Each faces a charge of rioting/failure to disperse.

Meanwhile, two New York state residents were arrested around 10 p.m. on Sunday after they allegedly blocked the entrance at 451 Doremus Avenue.

Police accused a 27-year-old Brooklyn woman clad in a black mask of jumping in front of a vehicle and striking its hood during the confrontation. She and another protester were charged with rioting/failure to disperse.

Other recent arrests at Delaney Hall have included out-of-state protesters, including the arrest of a Seattle resident who was allegedly seen smashing car windows on June 5 and now faces three counts of criminal mischief.

• Related: ICE Protests Explode At NJ Prison: What We Know So Far

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Protesters have told a different story about the clashes with ICE agents and police, however.

Activists say the situation has turned violent, with multiple reports of ICE agents pepper spraying, baton-wielding and crowd-shoving 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.

On Friday, a photojournalist was hit and partially dragged by a car, video footage posted online shows. Another person who placed himself in the pathway of traffic was clipped by a vehicle, NBC New York reported.

Videos shared by Status Coup News shows police allegedly “punching,” tackling and arresting protesters on June 3. Other footage shows ICE agents firing pepper balls in the direction of demonstrators, Newark police confronting protesters on June 6, and a baseball bat-carrying prison staffer shoving down barricades that activists had put up at the gates.

Protesters have also found support from advocacy groups like the New Jersey Communities for Accountable Policing, which alleged that the arrests were a “consequence of the violence of ICE agents and most especially by the New Jersey State Police.”

“De-escalation involves peaceful engagement, dialogue and negotiation,” a longtime activist from Newark said. “None of that happened.”

The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice also issued a statement about the Delaney Hall protests, claiming that the federal government is using the “inevitable outrage” to justify amping up their aggression against protestors and detainees.

Newark’s public safety director said that body-worn camera footage and in-car camera footage of the police officers at the scene on Sunday has been requested for review by the Newark Police Office of Professional Standards, which also responded to the scene.

“This proactive step was taken to ensure that our use of force and arrest policies, established under the Newark consent decree, were adhered to by all members involved,” Miranda said.

“These investigative initiatives, along with the review of the Newark Civilian Complaint Review Board, will be conducted with the highest degree of professional integrity,” Miranda added.

GOP CONGRESSMAN: SHERRILL MADE THE RIGHT CALL

On June 1, the state attorney general’s office announced that state authorities are handing off primary command of the scene at Delaney Hall to the Newark Police Department. Since then, Newark has been drawing down its presence outside the prison and reopening streets to protesters.

Last week, the city’s mayor announced that arrests continue to take place outside Delaney Hall, but have dropped from a whopping 80 to “just three” since Newark took over law enforcement duties from ICE and the state police. Each was an out-of-state resident, authorities said.

• Related: Arrests Continue At Delaney Hall – But They’re Slowing Down, NJ Mayor Says

On Tuesday – speaking in the wake of the recent arrests at Delaney Hall – U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew called for Gov. Mikie Sherrill to bring state police back to the prison.

“What we have seen outside Delaney Hall has been more like anarchy than peaceful protests,” said Van Drew, who chaired Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign in New Jersey.

“Peaceful demonstrations are the spirit of America,” he continued. “Violence and chaos are not. When protests turn violent, law enforcement must step in and work together.”

“Governor Sherrill made the right call when she brought in State Police to work with Newark police,” Van Drew said. “I was there. People were able to demonstrate peacefully, and the violent individuals were removed.”

“That is exactly how it should work,” he said. “Now she needs to bring them back.”

Read Van Drew’s full letter to Sherrill here.

MAYOR SAYS PRISON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SECURITY

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka gave an update on the situation at Delaney Hall on Monday.

“Last night, the Newark Police Division responded to a call regarding provocateurs at Delaney Hall who were blocking the facility’s entrance,” Baraka said.

The mayor said there will be “clear accountability” for anybody who engaged in unlawful behavior.

Baraka also said it appears some of the local police officers involved in the arrests were “over-aggressive” – and they should be held accountable, if so.

“It is imperative that all of our officers uphold the standards of professionalism and accountability required under the consent decree,” he said, referring to a recently dismissed policing agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.

Baraka added that Newark police should never have been called to intervene in the first place.

“The responsibility for maintaining secure access to the facility lies with [the GEO Group], which must ensure it has adequate security to manage employee ingress and egress,” Baraka said. “Asking Newark police officers to assume that role places an unnecessary burden on our department and further strains our already limited resources and budget.”

“We must also return our focus to what matters most – the detainees at Delaney Hall, their families, and the injustices they are facing,” Baraka said. “Actions by either provocateurs or law enforcement that shift attention away from these concerns ultimately detract from the purpose of these demonstrations and risk silencing the voices of those most affected.”

• Related: NJ Sues Owner Of ICE Prison, Sherrill Demands Inspections Amid Wave Of Complaints
• Related: Trump Supporters, Proud Boys Crash Anti-ICE Protest In New Jersey

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