Following New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill’s efforts to create a “peaceful” protest area, things escalated once more outside the Delaney Hall Detention Center on Friday night. Tensions flared between anti-ICE protestors and law enforcement.
Videos captured protestors chanting throughout the night, disregarding police requests to disperse. Authorities were seen using tear gas and pepper spray to manage the unruly crowd.
Amid the chaos, some rioters shouted, “Kill yourself, quit your job, quit your job!”
Shouts of “F—k ICE” echoed through the night.
As footage revealed, mounted officers attempted to clear the demonstrators from the Newark facility while others in full riot gear formed a strong front.
Demonstrators breached the facility’s protective orange fence, pulling it apart and spreading it across the road to further encroach.
On Friday afternoon, Sherrill announced that a “peaceful” protest zone would be established right away, stating, “We all need to do everything we can to calm things down now.”
Sherrill maintained that she does not want to give ICE “an excuse to expand its operations” in New Jersey.
She emphasized, “Our top priority is public safety, and we must seize this opportunity to lower temperatures now.”
Protests began over the Memorial Day weekend after detainees reported poor living conditions—extreme overcrowding, subpar food, and limited hot water.
The Trump administration responded, claiming that the living conditions at Delaney Hall exceed those of many U.S. prisons.
