New Jersey authorities have widened the security perimeter around Newark’s Delaney Hall immigrant detention center after a weekend of escalating protests, arrests and rising tensions between activists and federal immigration agents.
State Police, FBI agents and Homeland Security investigators were on the ground Sunday as officers blocked off access to the area, following two nights of confrontations that resulted in multiple arrests. Despite the unrest, the facility has resumed detainee visits, with families now escorted by police into the center, Governor Mikie Sherrill said.
The heightened security comes after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed a nightly curfew across a half‑mile radius surrounding Delaney Hall. Sherrill, who ordered State Police to take control of the area on Friday, said the expanded restrictions were necessary to prevent further clashes. “State police have now secured a broader area than just outside Delaney Hall,” Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said.
Protesters have been pushed back to the ends of two roads leading to the facility, a move intended to reduce direct confrontations with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel. The situation poses a political and logistical challenge for Sherrill’s administration, which is wary of giving the federal government any justification to deploy additional federal agents to New Jersey. President Donald Trump has repeatedly cited immigration‑related protests as grounds for sending federal law enforcement into US cities.
“ICE is not a law enforcement agency we want on our streets in any way,” Sherrill said Sunday, while urging demonstrators to remain peaceful. State Police reported three arrests on Saturday night, following six arrests the previous evening.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said operations at Delaney Hall will “continue as normal.”
The 1,000‑bed facility, operated by private contractor Geo Group, has long been criticized by immigrant advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who describe it as poorly managed and inhumane. After visiting the site Sunday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the conditions “unacceptable” and demanded the center be shut down immediately.
Sherrill said Saturday that “out‑of‑state agitators” had inflamed tensions, though she emphasized that most protesters were peaceful. Senator Andy Kim described the level of strain surrounding the demonstrations as unprecedented.
With protests expected to continue, New Jersey officials now face the delicate task of maintaining public safety while navigating the political fallout of a detention center that has become a flashpoint in the national immigration debate.
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