Tensions escalate outside Delaney Hall as protesters clash with ICE amid detention center concerns
The unrest follows reports of a hunger and labor strike that began Friday inside Delaney Hall, where activists say hundreds of detainees are protesting health and living conditions.
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Protesters and federal immigration officers clashed outside the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center Monday, as demonstrations over conditions inside the Newark facility intensified and Gov. Mikie Sherrill was denied entry during her first attempted visit.
Protesters gathered outside the detention center throughout Memorial Day. At times, they attempted to block ICE vehicles and trucks that were entering the facility. Some demonstrators sat in the entryway as tensions escalated between activists and federal agents.
The unrest follows reports of a hunger and labor strike that began Friday inside Delaney Hall, where activists say hundreds of detainees are protesting health and living conditions. Demonstrators have maintained around the clock presence outside the facility since then.
Sherrill arrived Monday around 10:30 a.m. alongside several state officials but was denied access to the building. As a state official, she does not have the same oversight authority as federal lawmakers that included Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Rob Menendez, both of whom have recently entered the facility for congressional oversight visits. Menendez said Monday he had remained at the site overnight waiting for entry. Kim said it took a direct call to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for them to be able to gain access on Monday.
Sherrill said officials have received troubling reports about conditions inside the detention center and called for detainees to be treated with dignity.
“Everyone, regardless of your status, should be treated with dignity, making sure that you make your doctor’s appointments, that you can get your medication,” Sherrill said. “We’re having reports that women who are menstruating have to ask every time they need products. That’s humiliating. That’s not the type of dignity we want people treated with here in New Jersey or anywhere in this country.”
Rep. Frank Pallone, who visited Delaney Hall earlier this year, said he was “shocked” by the conditions and criticized what he described as inadequate access to food and medical care.
DHS defended both the facility’s conditions and its decision to deny Sherrill entry.
“All detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.”
The agency also said that 24-hour medical care has long been standard practice at ICE detention facilities.
In response to Sherrill’s attempted visit, DHS called her appearance “nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day,” adding that visitation was suspended due to what it described as “riots outside the facility.”
Activists say the hunger strike inside Delaney Hall will continue until detainees are given an opportunity to speak directly with Sherrill.
