Family access resumes after week of escalating clashes
Family visitation at Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark resumed Sunday after the Department of Homeland Security agreed to restore access, Governor Mikie Sherrill announced. Limited visitation began at noon, with regular hours resuming Monday. The move came after a week of heated protests and violent clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed a nightly curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., citing the escalating situation and need for police intervention.
Facility staff confirmed that units 1 and 3 received visitation access on Sunday. Unit 2, where the majority of hunger-striking detainees are housed, had unclear visitation status. Families received conflicting information about which detainees could receive visitors after the announcement.
The conditions that sparked the strike
Between 300 and 400 detainees at Delaney Hall began a hunger and labor strike on May 22, demanding improved conditions, medical care, and faster immigration proceedings. Detainees have denounced living conditions, reporting expired food, a lack of medical care and abuse at the hands of authorities. The strike prompted supporters to gather outside the facility, where they locked arms to form human chains and created barricades.
DHS suspended visitation on Memorial Day, citing safety concerns from unrest outside the facility. Federal officials accused protesters of threatening law enforcement and engaging in violent behavior, though they denied detainees' allegations of mistreatment.
Police response and the curfew
New Jersey State Police assumed responsibility for security outside Delaney Hall on Friday, replacing ICE officers and establishing designated protest zones. That night, clashes erupted as state police on horseback moved through crowds while officers in riot gear shot tear gas canisters at demonstrators. State officials reported six arrests that night, followed by three more arrests Saturday night, including one person accused of unlawfully possessing a weapon.
Authorities alleged that protesters charged police lines, threw projectiles, used barriers as weapons, and set tires on fire. By Sunday, a security perimeter with barricades and checkpoints kept roughly 100 protesters at a distance from the facility. A state trooper told NBC News that authorities expected to maintain the perimeter for several more days.
The governor's blame and DHS's rebuttal
Governor Sherrill blamed "out of state" groups for escalating tensions at a Saturday news conference. She urged protesters to "bring the temperature down" and said the precautions were designed to protect peaceful demonstrators and prevent ICE from expanding operations in New Jersey.
DHS disputed Sherrill's characterization of the visitation restoration. A DHS spokesperson stated: "To be clear: Visitation was only suspended because of violent riots. Now that we have a secure perimeter, visitation can resume." The agency added that it "did not cave to the Governor's demands." Sherrill had called for Delaney Hall to be shut down after being denied access to the facility.
Lawmakers weigh in
Senator Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, called the past week "one of the most difficult weeks of my entire life" after meeting with protesters outside the facility. ICE officers pepper-sprayed Kim during a skirmish last weekend. Representative LaMonica McIver, who continues facing legal proceedings from a protest a year ago, wrote on social media Saturday: "Have they tried to silence me? Yes. Have the stakes risen? Yes. Am I backing down from speaking up for you? Never."
Hakeem Jeffries, the top U.S. House Democrat from nearby New York, conducted an oversight visit Sunday and said the conditions of confinement "shock the conscience." Advocates present at the facility criticized Sherrill's response. Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigrant Coalition, said Saturday that state police escalation "was ten times worse than what ICE was doing to everyone prior nights."
