New Jersey State Police Set up Protest Zone Outside Immigration Detention Center

As protests persist outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in New Jersey, state police on May 29 set up a designated area for demonstrators and took charge of operations outside the facility, replacing ICE officers in that role.

Speaking at a press conference, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she had sent state police to restore order outside the facility and established a designated protest zone to ensure public safety, as the situation there had “grown unsafe.”

“I will not give [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] the pretext to expand operations in our state,” the governor told reporters. “Our top priority is public safety, and we need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature now.”

Sherrill said her office will work with community members, advocates, and state police to direct people to the protected zone.

State police on Friday designated “protected protest zones” outside the facility’s gates to provide demonstrators with safe gathering places. They have also implemented vehicle checkpoints to control traffic, state police Lieutenant Colonel David Sierotowicz told reporters.

“ICE agents and their partners have agreed to remove themselves from the immediate area,” he said.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin welcomed the move, calling it “a win for law and order,” as he noted that the governor had previously declined to allow state police to cooperate with federal agents.

“After days of [Sherrill] REFUSING to allow State Police to assist [ICE] law enforcement against violent anti-ICE rioters, she is now allowing the New Jersey State Police to cooperate with us. Thank you, Governor,” he wrote in a post on X.

“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony. Anyone who assaults federal law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This violence against law enforcement must end.”

Protests outside Delaney Hall in Newark have continued for days as immigration activists and Democratic lawmakers call for greater transparency over how detainees are being treated inside the facility. Tensions escalated on May 25 as protesters clashed with ICE agents.

At least six protesters were arrested on May 27 for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers, and further arrests were made over the following days, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche shared photos on social media on May 29 showing injuries sustained by ICE officers that were allegedly caused by a rioter during a protest outside Delaney Hall.

“We will not tolerate the vicious attacks on ICE officers we’ve seen in New Jersey the last few days,” Blanche said in a post on X.

“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.”

The DHS has denied allegations about conditions inside Delaney Hall and accused Democratic politicians of spreading false claims. The agency said detainees receive three dietitian-approved meals daily and medical care.

“These types of smears are inciting violent riots outside the ICE facility in New Jersey,” acting DHS assistant secretary Lauren Bis said in a May 29 statement. “No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been better treated than illegal aliens.”

Meanwhile, Sherrill has urged federal immigration authorities to de-escalate the situation at Delaney Hall and called for the detention center to be closed down.

The governor said on May 28 that federal immigration enforcement has denied the state Health Department full access to Delaney Hall, allowing state officials to inspect only a limited part of the facility.

“I’m continuing to take every action available to get the Department of Health inside the facility to do a full inspection, and I’ll keep pushing to see Delaney Hall closed,” she told reporters on May 29.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.