New Jersey officials faced mounting fallout after anti-ICE demonstrations outside Newark’s Delaney Hall detention facility escalated into clashes, arrests, fires and an emergency curfew.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Newark officials imposed an emergency curfew around the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility after anti-ICE protests turned violent, forcing New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill to acknowledge that some demonstrators had endangered police and peaceful protesters.
The unrest unfolded after days of demonstrations outside the federal immigration detention center, where immigrant rights groups and relatives of detainees had protested conditions inside the facility and called for its closure. By Saturday night, city officials said the situation had escalated as protesters threw projectiles, pulled at security barriers and set fires near the ICE site.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka issued a curfew covering a half-mile radius around Delaney Hall, barring civilians from the area between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. until further notice. Baraka said the order was necessary after arrests and reports that some people were carrying weapons.
“Multiple individuals have already been arrested and found in possession of weapons, underscoring the seriousness of the threat,” Baraka said in a statement announcing the curfew.
The violence created a political challenge for Sherrill, a Democrat who had earlier aligned herself with protesters and called for ICE to de-escalate. In a statement issued shortly after midnight Sunday, Sherrill said the conduct of some individuals had “put peaceful protesters and law enforcement in danger,” while blaming the escalation on agitators from outside New Jersey.
“I do not know why these individuals attacked or what they wanted to accomplish, but I refuse to let these dangerous actions detract from New Jersey’s dedication to ensuring public safety, keeping people safe from ICE, and that the people detained inside Delaney Hall are treated with dignity,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill has also called on the Trump administration to shut down Delaney Hall, citing claims by the New Jersey Department of Health that officials were denied “full access” to inspect the facility while reviewing allegations of unsanitary conditions and mistreatment of detainees.
“As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” Sherrill said. “New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down.”
The governor repeated that demand while urging federal immigration authorities to ease tensions around the facility.
“New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down,” Sherrill said. “I am calling for ICE to immediately de-escalate the situation as I continue working to keep New Jersey residents safe.”
The Department of Homeland Security has rejected allegations that detainees are being mistreated at Delaney Hall, describing the claims as politically motivated. DHS officials said the Newark site is one of 25 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations facilities nationwide.
“This is nothing more than a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks,” Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “These sanctuary politicians should be thanking ICE law enforcement for removing murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and drug traffickers from their communities.”
DHS said Delaney Hall is a privately operated 1,000-bed facility that currently holds about 300 detainees. The agency said detainees receive “3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries,” along with medical, dental and mental health services and 24-hour emergency care.
“In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” the agency said. “For many illegal aliens, this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized the protests after overnight clashes, saying demonstrators “bit, kicked, and punched” law enforcement officers. He also accused Sherrill of blocking state police assistance to federal officers.
“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony,” Mullin posted Thursday on X. “Throughout the night, nine rioters were arrested. Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Law and order will prevail.”
DHS also circulated screenshots of social media posts from Sherrill and other New Jersey Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker, accusing them of “spreading smears” about ICE agents outside Delaney Hall. The agency also identified several detainees held at the Newark facility and cited criminal records that it said included murder, rape, assault and drug trafficking.
“We need these sanctuary politicians to stop peddling this garbage and cooperate with us to get these criminals out of their state,” Bis said. “These types of smears are contributing to our officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they remove the worst of the worst.”
The curfew remains in effect as city and state officials seek to contain the unrest surrounding Delaney Hall while the dispute over the facility’s operation, inspection access and detainee conditions continues.