NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Tensions escalated as demonstrators faced off with armed federal immigration officers outside a New Jersey detention facility. The protestors have been rallying for days, highlighting claims that detainees inside are on a hunger strike due to substandard conditions.
In a show of solidarity, many protesters, some equipped with gas masks and facial coverings, formed a human chain at Delaney Hall in Newark on Wednesday night. Social media buzzed with videos and images capturing this standoff.
Using an array of objects like trash cans, discarded mattresses, and umbrellas, they fashioned makeshift barriers to stand against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. The demonstrators sought to impede the flow of people and vehicles in and out of the facility, hurling items such as orange traffic cones toward the officers stationed at the entrance.
Chants rang out from the crowd, including provocative slogans like, “You will hang!” and “Every cop, every fed, shoot yourself in the head,” aimed at the helmeted and vested officers.
To break up the assembly, ICE officers resorted to pepper spray, as seen in social media footage. Batons were also wielded to push back and maintain order, clearing the path for vehicles to pass through.
At least one truck driver got out of his vehicle to vent his frustration when some protesters tried to block vehicles driving on the road in front of the detention center. People detained inside could at times be seen waving to protestors from Delaney Hall’s windows.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said about six demonstrators were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers.
“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony,” the agency said in a statement. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
On Thursday, demonstrators again returned to Delaney Hall.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill also said state health department officials were “denied full access” to the facility for a health inspection. The Democrat said the officials were only allowed to inspect a limited part of the facility as she called on ICE to “de-escalate” the situation.
“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 in a statement that also repeated her calls to shut down the facility outright.
Earlier Wednesday, Democratic members of Congress from New York City toured the facility as part of an oversight visit. A private prison company runs the detention center, which sits along an industrial stretch of Newark Bay.
Reps. Jerry Nadler, Daniel Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, who all represent Manhattan, described dire conditions where people held in the facility are fed small portions of often spoiled food and their varied medical needs are ignored.
DHS spokespersons have denied any hunger strike, abuse or poor conditions inside the center and dismissed criticism from opponents as political posturing.