Federal authorities arrested two individuals late Tuesday outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, following ongoing confrontations between federal immigration agents and demonstrators. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the arrests via a post on social media, stating that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had been assaulted by protesters who allegedly sprayed law enforcement with an unknown chemical substance. Videos from the scene depicted a chaotic situation involving multiple ICE agents during the confrontations. Protesters and bystanders reported that ICE deployed pepper spray during the incident.
Mullin indicated that the two individuals were arrested on charges of assaulting, resisting, and impeding federal officers, and warned that those who assault law enforcement would face prosecution. However, Kathy O’Leary, the New Jersey coordinator for the Catholic social justice organization Pax Christi, provided a different account regarding one of the arrests, claiming that a volunteer medic treating individuals affected by pepper spray was taken into custody by ICE agents. O’Leary stated that the volunteer, a U.S. Army veteran, was arrested while separated from the facility by a significant distance.
The arrests occurred on the fifth night of protests outside Delaney Hall, where approximately 300 detainees have been on a hunger and labor strike since Friday, protesting conditions within the facility. Detainees and their advocates have reported issues such as inadequate food, limited medical care, and poor ventilation, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has disputed. U.S. Representatives Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver confirmed some of the protesters' allegations following their visits to the facility.
Tensions at Delaney Hall escalated over the long weekend, with reports of ICE agents using pepper spray on Senator Andy Kim during a confrontation with demonstrators. Governor Mikie Sherrill was denied access to the facility, and several members of New Jersey's congressional delegation experienced delays in entering for oversight visits. The situation remains fluid as protests continue and detainees advocate for improved conditions.