Mikie Sherrill Blames New York And Pennsylvania Agitators For Delaney Hall Protest Violence

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill blamed out-of-state agitators for clashes outside the Delaney Detention Center in Newark, saying five of the six people arrested Friday night were not New Jersey residents and were from New York and Pennsylvania.

Sherrill told reporters at a Saturday afternoon press conference, “To the people coming from out of state to create chaos and dangerous situations: You should not be here,” and she added, “You are not helping the people detained at Delaney Hall, you are not helping detainee families and you are certainly not keeping New Jersey safe.”

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New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said state police “temporarily cleared” the area in front of Delaney Hall after protesters deployed fireworks and threw gas canisters at law enforcement.

The protests had been ongoing for more than a week, with immigrant advocate groups and detainees saying they were striking over poor conditions including food with worms in it, squalid facilities, and limited access to healthcare and legal assistance, while the Department of Homeland Security and private contractor Geo Group repeatedly denied those claims.

The Department of Justice said late Friday it had arrested a man it accused of kicking one federal officer and biting two others, as photos and videos showed state police lines with riot shields and others on horseback moving protesters on Doremus Avenue.

Federal officials, however, could not get their story straight on whether there is a hunger strike at Delaney Hall, with New Jersey activist groups saying hundreds of detainees launched a hunger strike over Memorial Day weekend to protest insufficient and spoiled food, medical neglect, poor living conditions, and abuse.

Reason Magazine described how the government’s position shifted between claiming it doesn’t exist, threatening to force-feed the nonexistent strikers, and claiming there was only a handful of detainees on hunger strike, after a Department of Homeland Security social media account posted that there was “NO HUNGER STRIKE” at Delaney Hall.

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Tom Homan told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that strikers would be force-fed “if it gets bad enough,” and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin later said during a meeting of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet that there were “only a handful of individuals” refusing to eat.

Lawyers for detainees pushed back on Mullin’s claim that the dispute was over food preference rather than food edibility, with Alex Minogue telling CNN Saturday, “I think they just don't want to eat worms.”

The DHS press release published on Saturday said there was no hunger strike at Delaney Hall and no medical neglect or lack of nutrition, quoting Lauren Bis: “They are provided 3 meals a day, medical care, and receive full due process.”

As tensions escalated, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed a curfew early Sunday around the Delaney Hall immigration detention center, closing the area from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for a half mile surrounding the facility.

“New Jersey, May 28 (EFE/EPA) — Tension continues this Wednesday outside the Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey, where immigrants have been on a hunger strike and a work stoppage for the sixth consecutive day, while dozens of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents guard the facility and lawmakers, activists, and family members demand answers about conditions inside the compound”

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Baraka said in a statement, “Beginning at 12 a.m., Doremus Avenue will be closed to all pedestrian traffic,” and he added that vehicle access would be strictly limited to those with verified official business in the area.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she sent in state police to bring order outside Delaney Hall, telling reporters, “It has grown unsafe, and that's completely unacceptable,” and she urged officials to “lower the temperature.”

The protests continued to draw mixed reactions, with Rachel Cohen warning, “It is not helpful to quell protest for the sake of a false peace,” while Eyes on ICE leader Kathy O’Leary described earlier assurances that state police would “just gonna help ICE facilitate the shift change.”

The Westfield resident Lisa O'Dwyer said she was fine with the designated protest areas, while U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called the measures a “win for law and order,” and the protests remained tied to detainees’ hunger strike and work stoppage over conditions inside the 1,000-bed facility.