Protesters Clash With ICE Agents Outside Delaney Hall In Newark During Hunger Strike

About 300 detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, began a hunger and labor strike Friday to protest inhumane conditions and due process violations, and protesters outside have staged a solidarity action since then.

“NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Hundreds of detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark have been staging a hunger strike since Friday, alleging inhumane conditions in the ICE facility”

ABC7 Eyewitness News

The Department of Homeland Security denied there’s a hunger strike at Delaney Hall, while New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker were allowed inside and spoke to detainees complaining about inhumane conditions and inadequate medical care.

ABC7 Eyewitness News

Demonstrations outside escalated into clashes as federal officers sprayed chemicals and charged demonstrators outside the jail in New Jersey on Tuesday night.

News12 said inside of the facility some 300 detainees were on day six of a hunger strike, and it reported that ICE agents and protesters did not clash Wednesday but did when detainees were being removed from the facility late Tuesday night.

In response to the hunger strike, DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, “There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall. There are no subprime conditions,” while the facility is operated by the Geo Group, according to The Guardian.

Supporters of the detainees said 13 of those taking part in the hunger strike were removed from Delaney Hall since Friday and sent to other facilities as a form of retaliation, and Amanda Dominguez of New Labor said, “ICE continues to try to transfer the hunger strikers out of Delaney Hall and the families do not want that.”

The Guardian described a Tuesday evening moment when a protester who threw something at ICE officers was chased by dozens of officials, tased and then carried into the jail.

Democracy Now!

ABC7 Eyewitness News said three people have been arrested during clashes with ICE agents over the last few days, and it quoted activist Catalina Adorno saying, “They found live worms in their food, we're also hearing of people being denied toilet paper.”

At the same time, DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis accused “rioters” of obstructing federal law enforcement operations and said local police refused to answer calls to assist, while NewsNation reported that DHS officials dismissed the protests as “nothing more than a political stunt.”

In a separate account of the confrontation, The Guardian reported that masked and armored ICE personnel pepper-sprayed US senator Andy Kim on Monday, and it quoted the detainee letter published by advocates on Tuesday morning demanding due process rights and improved conditions.

Detainees and advocates said the strike is tied to demands for improved food, ventilation and medical care, and The Guardian reported that detainees were demanding for their immigration cases to proceed.

“NEW YORK - Tensions escalated again Tuesday outside an immigrant detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, as protesters demanding better conditions for detainees clashed with federal immigration agents following days of demonstrations inside the facility”

FOX 5 New York

NewsNation said the detention center has 1,000 beds and currently houses about 300 detainees in Newark, and it reported that Democrats have called for the facility to be shut down after it was reopened in 2025.

The New York Times framed the standoff outside Delaney Hall as a symbol of President Trump’s immigration crackdown, describing a volatile parking-lot confrontation with an armored vehicle and federal agents carrying rifles and metal batons.

Democracy Now! reported that Tom Homan threatened to force-feed hunger strikers if physicians say they are in extreme danger, and it quoted him saying, “We’ll get a court order and force-feed them.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security and Geo Group disputed the allegations, with News12 quoting DHS’s spokesperson saying, “any claims of inadequate care are categorically false,” and the Geo Group statement to NewsNation saying its support services are monitored by ICE and include “around-the-clock” access to medical care.