(AFP) – Protesters clashed with US law enforcement outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey, a top US official said Friday, after inmates inside staged a hunger strike over conditions. Days of unrest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark have led to several arrests as a tough stance by US President Donald Trump’s administration draws stiff opposition.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin posted on X that on Thursday evening, “approximately 100 anti-ICE rioters gathered around the Delaney Hall ICE facility. Rioters bit, kicked, and punched law enforcement officers.” He said nine people were arrested. Footage from US media outlets showed scuffles between protesters and law enforcement, who used pepper spray.
Delaney Hall is a private, 1,000-bed facility used exclusively by ICE that has operated since 2025 as the Trump administration pressed its campaign to deport millions of illegal immigrants. New Jersey, on the US East Coast, is a so-called “sanctuary state,” voluntarily limiting its cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The turmoil outside Delaney Hall began after detainees inside launched a hunger and labor strike to protest conditions. A hand-written Spanish-language letter published this week by Cosecha, a group advocating for undocumented immigrants, and signed by 300 detainees, said that they are “detained without justification,” lack proper medical care and get “poor food.”
US Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat who visited the facility on Wednesday and said he spoke to dozens of detainees, echoed those concerns. “The majority of the people I spoke with have no criminal history — no charges, no convictions — related to the kind of violence Donald Trump promised Americans he would target,” Booker said in a statement. “Delaney Hall should be closed down,” he added.
State Governor Mikie Sherrill said she was denied access on Monday. The New Jersey Department of Health was able to inspect the center’s food service facilities on Thursday but was denied full access, the Democratic governor said on X. “Refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” she added.
Mullin responded to her on X, saying ICE detention centers are regularly inspected and audited by “external agencies.” “All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” he said.
© 2024 AFP
