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Protests escalated Monday outside Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, after Gov. Mikie Sherrill was denied access to the complex.
ICE agents in riot gear arrived late Monday afternoon and started removing protesters who were blocking the entrance to Delaney Hall and demanding answers about how detainees are being treated. Some protesters were throwing objects at the agents, who also deployed pepper spray.
The situation intensified as protesters attempted to form a human chain at the exit to Delaney Hall. Agents wearing riot gear pushed the large crowd back in an attempt to pull out a military-style vehicle, but protesters did not move, and some threw objects.
U.S. Sen. Andy Kim had tried to deescalate the situation, asking protesters to step back from the agents.
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“You see how much that they are trying to hide what’s happening here, intentionally trying to do that,” he said earlier amid the chaos, after he was allowed inside the facility with a congressional delegation.
While relatives of Delaney Hall detainees have been protesting since Friday, alleging their relatives are being held in poor conditions and some are not receiving proper medical care, a new group of organized protesters joined in Monday.
Late Monday evening, protesters started moving concrete slabs and orange barricades to block another entrance to the facility. Some climbed into dumpsters for material.
Sherrill joins Delaney Hall protesters
Sherrill joined the protesters earlier in the day, when it was less confrontational, but she was not allowed inside the facility.
“My request for access to Delaney Hall was formally denied this morning, raising serious questions about what they are trying to hide from public view,” Sherrill said.
“I have long opposed private detention facilities and will continue to advocate for the closure of Delaney Hall and against any expansion of mass detention facilities in New Jersey, like the proposed facility in Roxbury,” the governor wrote in an earlier statement.
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Outside the facility, Sherrill met with with some family members, including Gabriela Soto, a pregnant woman demanding her husband’s release.
“They lied to him. They told him he was getting released and I witnessed him getting kidnapped, shoved and thrown in a van,” Soto said.
“This type of facility shows exactly why we should not have private mass detention facilities,” said Sherrill, who was also able to speak with one detainee over the phone.
In response to Soto’s claims about her husband, the Department of Homeland Security said: “An illegal alien charged with assault was scheduled for a transfer to another ICE detention facility, but agitators obstructed the vehicle’s path.”
DHS accuses governor of “political stunt on Memorial Day”
DHS said visitation remains suspended at Delaney Hall due to agitators surrounding the facility.
“Governor Sherrill’s visit to Delaney Hall is nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day, when visitation is currently suspended due to riots outside the facility,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News New York.
The spokesperson said Kim was allowed inside to “conduct his congressional oversight responsibilities,” adding that detainees are given three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap and toiletries.
“There is nothing that ICE says that you should believe, and anything they say you should doubt immediately,” Congressman Robert Menendez Jr. said outside a facility in Elizabeth.
Another statement read that detainees also receive “medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care,” along with access to phones to speak with family members and lawyers.
Timeline of protests at Delaney Hall
Friday: About 300 detainees inside Delaney Hall go on a hunger strike, alleging inhumane conditions. A group of protesters joined them outside to stand in solidarity.
Saturday: Protests and strike continue. Kim and Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., both New Jersey Democrats, visit the facility.
Sunday: Protester Gabriela Soto receives word that her husband, Martin Soto Hernandez, will be released. She said he was placed in a white van to be transported out of the facility. She said she believes it was retaliation for her activism. The protesters prevent the van from leaving.
A DHS spokesperson said ICE removed 70 protesters and was able to transfer Soto Hernandez to the Elizabeth Contract Detention facility.
“Visitation has been suspended out of an abundance of caution to ensure the continued safety of staff, detainees, and visitors,” according to a statement.
Monday: At around 1 a.m., there’s a scuffle between protesters and ICE agents.
In the morning, Menendez and Rep. Analilia Mejia are at the facility as protesters continue guarding the gates to prevent ICE from transporting Soto Hernandez.
Other politicians also went to the facility, including Kim and Rep. Nellie Pou.
