Immigrant rights advocates clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside Delany Hall in Newark on Tuesday during a protest in solidarity with detainees that has now reached its fifth day.
Protesters from New York and New Jersey maintained their posture of defiance against federal agents throughout May 26, which led to several confrontations. ICE agents with their faces covered wielded batons and used them to knock down the most agitated protesters.
“I’m getting a little emotional because I’m a black man, and for years my people have been oppressed, we’ve been beaten in the streets. This is the emergency here and now. These people are going hungry. People won’t stop eating for fun. People go hungry when there’s a real emergency,” protester Derel Stroud told amNewYork.
Delany Hall Hunger Strike Seeks Better ICE Conditions
The ongoing protest stems from a hunger strike launched by detainees seeking to receive healthy food and better conditions within the facility. Delany Hall houses immigrants detained by ICE from as far away as Texas to New Yorkers arrested in immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza.
Some ICE agents who previously arrested immigrants attending their immigration court hearings over the past year were also seen outside the detention center Tuesday. Protesters say they were trying to block traffic to prevent the strikers from being transported as punishment.
Tuesday’s action occurred 24 hours after a major show of force by ICE, when they deployed pepper spray and pepper balls to disperse the crowd as they began blocking vehicles entering and leaving the facility. New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim was trying to mediate between the two sides when he said he was caught in the crossfire and sprayed with a substance.
“There was an armored vehicle, as well as a line of armed ICE agents, and then there was also a line of advocates and activists. I tried to put myself in the middle to try to see how we could prevent this from escalating any further, when they told me they were going to move forward anyway. I tried to see if there was a way to prevent this from escalating to something that could cause actual physical harm, injury, or worse,” Kim said. “My eyes burn, my throat burns, my hands hurt, but it’s not about me, it’s about the people inside.”
Kim also claimed that he has been inside the detention center and spoken to people held there.
“We continue to see both inside and outside Delany Hall chaos caused by what ICE is doing. Inside, I have heard from hundreds of detainees in recent days about inhumane treatment and the lack of any judicial process resembling the rule of law. But outside, again chaos and lawlessness, with disregard for safety and security,” Kim said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), however, rejected Kim’s statements and stated that no one was directly hit by “pepper ball” projectiles.
“On May 25, 2026, protesters impeded law enforcement’s exit from the ICE facility. Agents issued multiple verbal commands for protesters to clear the area. Protesters refused to follow law enforcement orders and continued to block the exit route. Our law enforcement followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property. The First Amendment protects free speech and peaceful assembly, not “DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to enforce the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous protesters. We remind the public that rioting is dangerous: obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting officers is a serious crime,” the agency said in a statement.
DHS, however, has previously been accused of making false claims about other law enforcement actions over the past year, ranging from the physical assault and harassment of journalists in Federal Plaza to the fatal shooting of two citizens in Minneapolis.
Meanwhile, protesters stood their ground, saying they were supporting the people detained inside. In a shocking moment, they began removing objects, such as metal beams from a large garbage container, and used shovels to excavate stones from an exterior wall and use them to block the entrance to the facility. They also used barricades to set up a makeshift checkpoint.
The activists illuminated the vehicles with flashlights and allowed them to enter and exit as long as there were no detainees inside.
Late Monday night, two men were released from detention and reunited with their loved ones in an emotional hug. One of the released detainees, with the help of a translator, said he supported the hunger strike.
As night fell, the shadows of the detainees could be seen beyond the barbed wire fences inside the building through the windows, as they turned lights on and off and appeared to jump as they tried to communicate with those outside, generating excitement among protesters who shouted at them with megaphones.
Around 6 a.m. Tuesday, ICE returned and dismantled the makeshift barricades. Officers in tactical gear and non-lethal weapons remained at the scene throughout the day.
DHS issued an updated statement on X on Tuesday afternoon, stating that local authorities have refused to come to their aid.
“These protesters have OBSTRUCTED law enforcement operations—a serious and criminal offense. Local police have refused to respond to calls to assist our law enforcement,” DHS stated in the post. “We will not allow violent protesters to delay @ICEgov. Law and order will be restored.”
However, elected officials continue to pressure ICE to be accountable for the conditions detainees face at Delany Hall.
“For the last 34 hours they have tried to divert attention to what is happening outside, because they want to divert attention from the conditions inside,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “Why is our federal government spending billions of dollars to keep people with no criminal records in Delany Hall and private detention centers across the country?”
