New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has announced the deployment of state police to establish designated protest zones and vehicle checkpoints outside an immigration detention center in Newark, following days of violent demonstrations and arrests. The Democrat stated on Friday that the move aims to restore order at Delaney Hall, a facility that has become a flashpoint for clashes between protesters and federal immigration enforcement officers.
Escalating Tensions at Delaney Hall
Sherrill, accompanied by the state attorney general and state police leaders, emphasized that public safety is the top priority. "It has grown unsafe, and that’s completely unacceptable," she said during a news conference. "We need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature." The protests erupted last Friday after immigrant advocates reported that detainees inside the 1,000-bed facility, which opened in May 2025, had initiated a hunger strike over poor living conditions.
Demonstrators have been blocking vehicle and pedestrian access to the facility, forming human chains and using makeshift barricades such as trash cans and umbrellas. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, equipped with helmets and tactical vests, have responded with pepper spray and batons. At least six protesters were arrested Wednesday night for assaulting law enforcement, with additional arrests on other nights, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
State Police Intervention
With state police assuming responsibility for public safety outside Delaney Hall, ICE officers have agreed to stand down from their positions along the entryway, Sherrill and state officials confirmed. In addition to protest zones, police will set up vehicle checkpoints to regulate traffic and ensure safe passage. Sherrill stressed that the intervention is necessary to prevent ICE from having a "pretext" to expand operations in the state. "We know what ICE has done in other states, and we know American citizens lost their lives, and I refuse to let that happen in New Jersey," she said. "We all need to do everything we can to cool things down now."
Conditions Inside the Facility
Governor Sherrill was among a group of Democratic officials who attempted to visit detainees on Monday but were denied entry. However, Democratic members of Congress from New York City toured Delaney Hall on Tuesday and reported dire conditions, including small portions of often spoiled food and neglect of medical needs. Families of detainees and their supporters allege that their loved ones have been subjected to pepper spray and physical force in retaliation for the hunger strike and ongoing protests.
Spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the GEO Group, the private contractor operating the facility, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
