Democrat New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is blaming the Trump administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for violent clashes outside a Newark immigrant detention center, as state police report confronting hostile out-of-state agitators armed with rocks and fireworks.
During a news conference Saturday afternoon, Sherrill claimed ICE engagement "creates an incredibly dangerous situation" adding she refuses to "back down in fighting the Trump administration and the threats they've made."
Sherrill also called on demonstrators to "bring the temperature down" after various groups gathered Saturday outside Delaney Hall.
She said the national extremist groups that have allegedly come from out of state to join the protests “should not be here.”
Sherill called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restore visitation for families of detainees, and to provide appropriate care and medical for all detainees, and to "stop pressuring them into signing deportation documents."
Despite the governor's criticism of federal agents, state law enforcement described a highly volatile situation orchestrated by anti-ICE demonstrators.
Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz said agitators surrounded a marked police vehicle and threatened personnel, creating an immediate safety risk. After police issued dispersal orders, the crowd was seen retrieving face coverings, gas masks, fireworks, rocks and other projectiles.
The violence forced the deployment of the state's Public Safety Response Team to clear the area using chemical munitions, which Sierotowicz defended as a necessary "irritant" to avoid hand-to-hand combat and keep officers safe.
State officials also admitted that the chaos is being driven by outside instigators rather than local residents, with Attorney General Jennifer Davenport confirming five of the six people arrested by state police this week were not from New Jersey.
Sherrill acknowledged that "national extremist groups" have infiltrated the protests to create chaos, warning out-of-state actors that they are endangering the public and not helping the detainees.
"You're not helping detainee families, and you're certainly not keeping new Jersey safe today," the governor said. "Going forward, I urge those protesting outside of Delaney Hall to bring the temperature down so we can focus on the detainees and their families. Comply with the lawful orders from local and state law enforcement and let advocates, faith leaders and members of this community continue their work here in America."
She added state health inspectors were recently blocked from viewing anything other than the facility's kitchen, and called on the Department of Homeland Security to stop pressuring detainees into signing deportation documents.
NEWARK, N.J. — Communist and socialist messaging was on full display at Saturday’s anti-ICE demonstration outside Delaney Hall, where agitators repeatedly chanted, “Stop ICE Gestapo! Communist revolution!” as roughly 200 protesters gathered outside the immigration detention facility.
Several speakers and activists linked immigration enforcement to broader labor, socialist and anti-capitalist causes while calling for the closure of the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center. Drums, megaphones and organized chants were used throughout the protest.
Fox News Digital observed signs and literature from several far-left organizations at the protest, including the Democratic Socialists of America, Freedom Socialist Party, Internationalist Group, Labor Committee to Defend Immigrants and CUNY Internationalist Clubs.
Communist literature was openly distributed throughout the demonstration. Multiple protesters carried copies of "Challenge," a newspaper affiliated with the Progressive Labor Party, bearing headlines including “LONG LIVE COMMUNISM!” and “NO PAPERS, NO BORDERS, NO BOSSES.”
The communist and socialist presence echoed a trend previously documented by Fox News Digital, in which far-left organizations operate alongside broader activist coalitions at demonstrations focused on immigration, anti-Israel causes and opposition to the Trump administration.
New Jersey State Police have formed a line outside Delaney Hall as anti- and pro-ICE demonstrators face off across barriers in Newark.
The anti-ICE side, which includes a number of far-left groups, heavily outnumbers the pro-ICE contingent.
Members of the far-right Proud Boys are also at the scene supporting ICE and law enforcement.
The two sides have been shouting chants and slogans at one another throughout the afternoon as police maintain separation between the rival groups.
{{#rendered}}New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill seemingly placed the blame on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for security concerns outside Delaney Hall, claiming that her decision to send state police to the scene was made to protect agitators.
"My top priority is keeping New Jerseyans and our communities safe – and an increased ICE surge in the area outside of Delaney Hall is a threat to public safety. We know that lives would be at risk were that to happen. And I will not accept that risk," the Democratic governor wrote on X Saturday morning.
"That is why last night, the New Jersey State Police Public Safety Response Team acted to secure the area outside of Delaney Hall," she continued. "This was absolutely necessary to protect public safety, and avoid escalation from ICE. As Americans, we have a right to protest – and we will continue to ensure New Jersey residents can peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights."
"Today and going forward, I urge everyone who is protesting to do so peacefully in the safe areas, and work together to bring the temperature down," Sherrill added. "We need to focus on advocating for better conditions for the detainees, for their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall."
Her post comes as the Department of Homeland Security said that federal immigration officers have been bitten, kicked and punched by violent crowds of anti-ICE agitators outside Delaney Hall for the past week. Federal authorities have deployed pepper spray and beaten back crowds wielding umbrellas and masks before Sherrill announced Friday that state police would take over public safety operations at the facility.
DHS previously slammed Sherrill for refusing to allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in the Garden State.
NEWARK, N.J. — A pair of rival demonstrations outside Delaney Hall sprang into life shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday when members of the Proud Boys arrived in support of ICE and law enforcement.
Anti-ICE activists and a smaller group of pro-ICE supporters had gathered on opposite sides outside of the immigration detention facility throughout the morning before the notorious right wing Proud Boys arrived.
At about 12:45 p.m. EST Proud Boys supporters arrived carrying pro-ICE flags, cases of water and food to give to immigration authorities. Several wore the group’s traditional black-and-yellow clothing and insignia.
Anti-ICE demonstrators quickly alerted others to their presence and rushed toward the group, shouting slogans as the Proud Boys made their way through the crowd toward the pro-ICE side of the protest.
The agitators shouted expletives at them while Proud Boys said they were there to support ICE and law enforcement.
The arrival energized the demonstration, with both sides trading chants across police barriers as the atmosphere became noticeably louder and more confrontational.
Anti-ICE agitators changed their chants from targeting immigration authorities to shouting “Proud Boys go home.”
Rioters outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, defied state police orders to confine their anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstrations to a designated First Amendment zone on Friday.
While New Jersey State Police directed the rioters to relocate, one woman responded "No! We will not! I'm expressing my First Amendment right here!"
A man next to her then chimed in, "We designate our First Amendment zones."
State police took over responsibility for public safety from federal authorities Friday at Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill's direction.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had previously criticized Sherrill for refusing to allow state authorities to assist federal law enforcement as violent clashes persisted for about a week.
Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell contributed to this post.
{{#rendered}}A food menu from Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, shows a wide array of meal options, as detainees' claims of not being properly fed have fueled violent anti-ICE demonstrations outside the facility for the past week.
The menu, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared with Fox News, shows differing meal selections for three square meals, seven days a week.
Breakfast on a Monday, for example, included cereal, scrambled eggs and potatoes with onions and peppers. Lunch for the day was chicken legs with cream gravy, peas and carrots and beans with rolls. Lunch also included a fruit cobbler. Dinner items for the day included garlic bread, salad, green beans and pasta with meat sauce.
Meal items listed for other days included taco meat, beef and bean burritos, Spanish rice, chicken fajitas, fried eggs, cinnamon oatmeal, mixed vegetables, Salisbury steak patties, cake, cornbread, coffee, fruit and more.
Anti-ICE demonstrations, which are going on their ninth day Saturday, were seemingly sparked on Friday May 22 when Delaney Hall detainees penned an open letter claiming mistreatment that included a denial of access to medical care and a lack of adequate food options.
"We are being tortured physically and psychologically due to the poor food resources provided in these detention centers," the letter read.
DHS denied those claims in a statement.
"The facts are all detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries. Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers," the agency wrote.
Supporters for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) clashed with anti-ICE agitators outside Newark, New Jersey's Delaney Hall on Saturday as the raucous detention center demonstrations entered their ninth day.
Supporters carrying signs reading "America First Republicans SUPPORT ICE" were met with jeers and profanity from anti-ICE demonstrators who screamed through megaphones and banged loud drums in the pro-ICE individuals' faces.
Local authorities repeatedly stepped in to separate intensifying conflicts which spilled out into the road outside the detention center.
After initially receiving criticism from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin for not allowing state authorities to assist federal authorities in deescalation, New Jersey's Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill authorized State Police to take over public safety measures from federal authorities.
Large plastic orange barricades surrounded the center Saturday, as well as metal barriers meant to separate the opposing sides. Despite the barriers, the rivaling groups still managed to clash physically, prompting repeated attempts from law enforcement to separate them.
An anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agitator was hit with federal charges after gnarly photos showed bloody bite marks he allegedly made into federal agents' arms during violent clashes outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
Brendan John Geier, a 26-year-old man from Madison, New Jersey, was part of a group of agitators blocking the road near Delaney Hall on Thursday night when ICE deportation officers instructed the group to move away, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The group allegedly ignored the commands and instead violently engaged with the officers, according to the DOJ. Geier then "engaged in a struggle with deportation officers, kicking officers and ultimately biting an officer’s forearm, and another’s knuckle. Both victims received treatment at a local hospital," prosecutors said. He was charged with assaulting federal officers and causing bodily injury and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cari Fais on Friday, the DOJ said.
"We will not tolerate the vicious attacks on ICE officers we’ve seen in New Jersey the last few days. These riots are clearly not 'peaceful protests' as you can see from the photos of these horrific wounds. Assault a federal officer, you’ll be held accountable," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote in a Friday afternoon post on X.
This is an excerpt from a story by Robert McGreevy. Read the full story here.
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