Editor’s note: For readers unfamiliar, across the bridge from Staten Island,  in Newark New Jersey, a fight has been going on at a detention center. Run by for-profit company GEO, detainees there allege that they’ve received wormy or rotten food in insufficient quantity, been denied essential medical care, including post-miscarriage care for a fetal death that occurred while in custody, along with other human rights abuses shared with Senator Booker by those who suffered them firsthand (see the YouTube video here).  Days ago, there was an incident inside the center where tear gas and ‘less-lethal’ weapons were used.  Until several days ago, ICE agents were said by the governor to have been using batons, tear gas, and rubber bullets regularly night after night during protests in support of the hunger strike and detainee demands.  Keep in mind that, according to Senator Booker and Senator Kim,  Jersey’s senators, both of whom were finally allowed access after days of requests (and Sen Kim was tear gassed himself after emerging), the conditions were classified by them as inhumane, horrific, and disturbing.  The state of New Jersey was able to get DHS/ICE to agree to allow the state police exclusive responsibility for crowd control at these protests, which have been for the most part peaceful, albeit with a more boisterous and assertive crowd likely to push past barricades and yell at officers, the latter of which is fully protected – even if they use expletives.  The governor mentioned, in the video linked above,  that she was activating the police and partners in order to avoid a situation like that seen in Minnesota.  

According to investigative news outlet The Jersey Vindicator, in response to DHS statements denying that a hunger strike is occurring: 

Eyes on ICE New Jersey, a grassroots advocacy group, confirmed Tuesday that about 200 detainees are still on strike.

Participants have demanded an in-person meeting with Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who visited the facility briefly on Monday but was not allowed inside.

They have also asked for the immediate release of elderly, pregnant, young, or sick detainees; a “meaningful review” of immigration cases and habeas filings; and an end to what they have described as pressure to sign deportation documents.

“ICE and GEO Group personnel have used intimidation tactics and have attempted to discourage participation in the strike, including through unit-level interventions and threats of disciplinary consequences,” Eyes on ICE said in a statement.

Private prison firm GEO Group, which has a 15-year, $1 billion contract to run the site, has allegedly retaliated against the detainees by shutting down TVs, cutting off access to commissary accounts, leaving the lights on all night, randomly turning off the water, and denying detainees access to tablet or video calls.

Guards armed with rubber bullet guns and batons are also patrolling the units, according to Eyes on ICE.

Gov. Sherrill implements protest zones to ‘cool things down’ at Newark detention center

by Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor
May 29, 2026

After a week of escalating clashes between federal immigration agents and protesters outside a Newark detention facility, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Friday that New Jersey State Police would take over the area outside of Delaney Hall and establish protected protest zones in an effort to “cool things down” and avoid giving federal officials the “pretext” to intervene further.

“We’ve seen increasing violence, arrests, and pepper spray at Delaney Hall, as well as public threats from the Trump administration. And we’ve seen the risk to public safety rising outside of Delaney Hall,” said Sherrill, a Democrat. “It has grown unsafe and that’s completely unacceptable.”

The announcement capped a week in which Delaney Hall — the privately-run, 1,000-bed immigration facility in Newark run by Geo Group — became a volatile flashpoint in New Jersey’s fight against President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.

Under the plan announced Friday afternoon, state police will establish marked peaceful assembly zones outside the facility, encircled by more than 600 yards of bike racks, according to Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz. Vehicle checkpoints have already been set up to reduce traffic and the risk of protestors being struck. And Sierotowicz said U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents have agreed to “remove themselves from the immediate area” — a significant de-escalation from the past week of pepper spray, batons and arrests alongside Doremus Avenue.

“We’ve seen over the past four nights, continued interactions between ICE and protestors,” he said. “We really feel like adding ICE to this situation has made things less safe, and we’ve seen a surge now in ICE agents coming into the region, which has given us a great deal of concern.”

Officials noted that pro-ICE rallies are expected over the weekend, and they will have their own area to gather.

“We need to do everything we can to lower the temperature and de-escalate the situation,” Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said.

Activists on the ground in Newark cautiously welcomed the news. Sally Pillay, an advocate with Eyes on ICE NJ, said she thinks it’s a good move, but worried “the protesters are not going to hear it.” She’s also concerned about dueling protests over the weekend and whether tensions could continue to rise.

“It’s very chaotic. Things have escalated and there are folks out there that mean well, that are showing up to support and uplift the demands, but we also recognize that there are folks who are coming and escalating,” she said. “We have a responsibility to protect one another and to remain grounded in the voices of the detained people and their families.”

On May 22, roughly 300 detainees launched a hunger and labor strike inside to call attention to what they called inhumane conditions, including live worms in their food. Since Memorial Day weekend, protesters have gathered outside the facility daily, with confrontations turning more violent at night. Elected officials have entered the facility to speak with detainees participating in the hunger strike — and at times, officials have been hit with pepper spray themselves. And on Thursday, detainees reported that agents inside retaliated against them and used pepper spray in a unit that remained on lockdown throughout the evening.

Sherrill’s plan also comes a day after Department of Human Services Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed the governor refused to allow state police to assist ICE officers. In a statement Friday, he thanked the governor for allowing police to assist ICE agents after days of refusals and called it a “win for law and order.”

He also said that about 100 anti-ICE protesters gathered outside the facility Thursday — biting, kicking, and punching law enforcement. He said nine people were arrested, in addition to eight people on Wednesday.

“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony. Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This violence against law enforcement must end,” Mullin said.

DHS officials have also denied allegations that a hunger strike is ongoing inside the facility, claiming that detainees receive three meals a day. Mullin has accused politicians of staging a “political stunt.”

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Sherrill was refused entry when she attempted to visit Monday — though state officials are not guaranteed the same access as federal officials like congressional members. She also noted that the state Department of Health sought to conduct an inspection Thursday but was denied full access, only viewing a limited portion of the facility, and said she’d keep pushing for a full inspection.

She also stressed her support for the facility to be shut down entirely, citing the unsafe conditions inside.

“Delaney Hall is a private detention facility — run by a for-profit company providing zero transparency,” she said. “I’ll keep pushing to see Delaney Hall close.”

New Jersey Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: [email protected].

Banner Image: Senator Kim and other protestors being hit with pepper ball spray. Image Credit – Senator Kim