Dueling protests face off at New Jersey ICE detention center over detainee conditions

Tensions rose at a Newark, New Jersey, immigration detention center on Saturday as a group of pro-ICE protesters faced off with demonstrators who have maintained a presence outside the facility for more than a week in support of detainees who they say are enduring inhumane conditions inside.

Continued late-night clashes with authorities outside U.S. ICE’s Delaney Hall Detention Facility prompted Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to institute a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew until further notice.

The curfew applies to the area within one-half mile from Delaney Hall, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement. Baraka said those who violate the closure and curfew will be removed and prosecuted.

“Due to the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention, immediate action is required to protect public safety,” the mayor said in a statement. “Multiple individuals have already been arrested and found in possession of weapons, underscoring the seriousness of the threat.”

Doremus Avenue, which abuts the facility, was to be closed to pedestrians, with vehicle traffic limited to those with business along the street, Baraka said.

Davenport said protesters “attacked” a barrier between law enforcement and demonstrators Saturday night, charged at officers, threw projectiles and set a fire.

“We denounce any violent conduct that interferes with peaceful protesting,” she said. “And we will ensure that we can simultaneously protect public safety for our residents and our law enforcement officers.”

The Department of Homeland Security said early Sunday on X that the area around the facility had been secured and that the agency “WON’T BACK DOWN.”

Protests outside the Delaney Hall facility Saturday morning saw a heavy police presence, including a group of officers with riot shields blocking the entrance. At one point, a group of federal agents, some carrying long guns, and an armored vehicle were stationed outside.

A day earlier, New Jersey’s Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that the state would establish a protected peaceful protest zone outside the facility, citing safety concerns following protests in Minneapolis earlier this year where federal agents killed two American citizens.

Sherrill said Saturday that she was “grateful to the vast majority of protesters who have assembled peacefully and raised their voices about Delaney Hall’s conditions.” She reiterated calls to “keep the temperature down” following the arrest of six people outside the facility late Friday night after protesters failed to follow police orders to disperse. The governor said five of the six arrested were from out of state.

“To the people coming from out of state to create chaos and dangerous situations, you should not be here,” she said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. “You are not helping the people detained at Delaney Hall. You’re not helping detainee families, and you’re certainly not keeping New Jersey safe.”

The New Jersey State Police said in a statement that one of those faced a charge of disorderly conduct and endangering another person and the other five were charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice. One of the protesters arrested was from Pennsylvania, four were from New York and one was from New Jersey, state police said.

Sherrill’s announcement followed days of tensions outside the Delaney Hall facility over allegations of abysmal conditions and the use of violence against detainees, which the Department of Homeland Security denies. Nine people demonstrating in support of detainees were arrested Thursday following clashes with ICE officers.

DHS said in a statement Saturday afternoon that the arrests came amid what it described as a “coordinated campaign of violence against our ICE law enforcement.”

“This violence against law enforcement must end,” the agency said.

The atmosphere on Saturday was tense. Police set up fencing to establish protest areas and separate the groups. Later, police officers blocking the entrance to the facility were seen without riot gear.

Protesters rallying in support of immigrants inside the facility banged on drums and chanted, “Shut down Delaney Hall, free them all!” and “Shut this racist system down!”

Some held signs saying “ICE OUT NOW,” and a group of healthcare workers held signs reading “Doctor against deportations” and “Health care worker against deportations.”

Many of the demonstrators have said they were protesting what they described as unsafe and inhumane conditions inside Delaney Hall.

“I’m against these people being detained unlawfully, some of them have never had any convictions, and they’re just in there,” protester Dana, who declined to share her last name, told NBC News on Saturday afternoon. “It’s not okay to treat human beings this way. I don’t care how you feel about immigration, we’re all human beings.”

Jacqueline Calderone said she knew people who were recently detained by ICE.

“These people don’t come here to commit crimes, they come here for a better life for them, their loved ones,” she said. “They deserve rights. They deserve a fair process, due process.”

Ashley Kussman said she was protesting for the detainees who were being held “in cruel conditions and who are being abused by our government and by a private corporation acting for our government,” referring to DHS and GEO Group, the private company that runs the facility.

“I am very worried for the state of our country,” she told The Associated Press. “I support the Constitution. I support democracy and I support the freedom to speak, the freedom to gather, the freedom to live without having to worry that you’re going to get kidnapped off the street by somebody in a mask and a uniform.”

Separated by fencing, the group of pro-ICE protesters held American flags and chanted, “USA, USA.”

They held signs that read “Make America Great Again” and “Support ICE.”

“We’re here basically to support ICE and the situations and the dealings that they’re unfortunately coming about. They’re just trying to do their jobs,” protester Michael, who declined to give his last name, told the AP.

“These officers are just under crazy scrutiny,” he said. “They just go out every day to risk their lives on the line and make sure that we make it home safe.”

Some protesters shouted across the fencing at each other.

“For days, we’ve heard reports of unsafe, inhumane and unconstitutional conditions there,” Sherrill said at a news conference Friday. “We’ve seen increasing violence, arrest and pepper spray at Delaney Hall, as well as public threats from the Trump administration, and we’ve seen the risk to public safety rising outside of Delaney Hall.”

DHS said on social media Saturday that ICE agents had “been bitten and faced death threats and assaults from violent rioters in New Jersey.” The agency thanked New Jersey law enforcement.

Regarding allegations of violence against the detainees inside the facility, GEO Group said in a statement Friday that staff responded to a “physical altercation involving detainees at Delaney Hall” on Thursday and that, in accordance with its policies, staff used “control measures to safely resolve the situation, including the limited use of chemical agents.”

The company added that its response was “carried out in strict adherence to federal standards and comprehensive training,” and that affected detainees were evaluated by on-site medical personnel and “were cleared with no serious injuries.”

GEO Group also said it categorically rejected what it called “baseless accusations” against the facility, which it said were “politically motivated,” adding that its services are monitored by ICE and DHS.

It said its support services include “around-the-clock access to medical care,” dietitian-approved meals, religious and specialty diets and access to medical care, the statement said.

Protests were also tense Friday night as police erected barriers around the facility and ICE agents who had formed a line in front of protesters moved behind the building’s perimeter fence, according to NBC New York. New Jersey State Police Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz said ICE officers agreed to stand down as state police assumed responsibility for security.

After some demonstrators refused to move to designated protest areas, state police issued multiple dispersal warnings before moving in at around 10 p.m. Officers pushed protesters back and deployed pepper spray.

Sierotowicz said some protesters “were observed retrieving face coverings, gas masks, fireworks, rocks, and other projectiles” and a public safety response team was deployed to move the crowd away from the area and create “safe passage for personnel with no significant injuries to the public or law enforcement.”