Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, reported that he was pepper sprayed by federal agents on Monday during a protest outside a detention facility in Newark. The incident occurred at Delaney Hall, where detainees have been staging a hunger strike to protest poor conditions and lack of medical care.
Video Shows Senator Receiving Aid
Social media footage captured Kim receiving assistance from a volunteer who poured water into his eyes. The senator had joined New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill at the protest to speak with relatives of detainees. According to Kim, the chemical spray incident happened shortly after he had inspected conditions inside Delaney Hall.
Kim described emerging to a "standoff" between protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He said ICE had deployed an armored vehicle as a barricade and that he "kind of lined up in front of them" to try to de-escalate the situation. "ICE officials told me that they were going to push through the crowd with their vehicle and they wanted to get some vehicles out of there," Kim explained. "I tried to arrange a situation where people would not get hurt, where there wouldn't be a confrontation. Unfortunately, ICE just continued on."
Chaos Inside and Outside Facility
In a post on X, Kim stated he witnessed "chaos inside and outside" the facility. He criticized ICE for sending in an armored vehicle and armed agents instead of engaging with him about the conditions. "What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful. Delaney Hall is a failure; it's this administration's failure. The only way to make this right for our communities is to shut it down and make sure the failures we've seen never happen again," he wrote.
Demonstrators have been gathered at Delaney Hall since Friday, alleging detainees are denied fresh food, medical care, and functioning air conditioning. Tensions escalated on Sunday when authorities planned to transfer Martin Soto, the detainee who announced the strike, to another facility. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson confirmed that Soto was successfully moved to the Elizabeth contract detention facility about seven miles away later that evening.
Violence Escalates
Violence continued into the early hours of Monday. According to Gothamist, ICE agents blocked the roadway along Delaney Hall's back gate around 1 a.m., seemingly to let vehicles exit. Demonstrators confronted them, and some tried to block the vehicles. ICE agents responded by clearing the area with force, pushing protesters onto sidewalks and into parked cars. At least one demonstrator was pepper sprayed, and another suffered a leg injury.
Several other Democratic politicians, including Governor Sherrill and Congressman Rob Menendez, were present earlier in the day but not when Kim was sprayed. The senator told USA Today that his eyes and throat were still burning Monday night. He vowed to continue fighting the "lawlessness and unaccountability perpetuated by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress."
DHS Blames 'Rioters'
DHS posted on X, blaming "rioters" for the violence. The statement claimed that no individuals were directly struck by pepper ball projectiles. It described the incident as rioters obstructing law enforcement from exiting the facility and said officers used the minimum force necessary. "The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters," the statement read.
Monday's violence occurred amid stalled efforts by the Trump administration to pass a $70 billion funding measure for ICE and border patrol. Senate Republicans derailed the bill last week over a dispute involving Donald Trump's plans for a White House ballroom and the creation of a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that could benefit January 6 rioters.
Kim is the latest Democratic senator to experience violence while challenging Trump's immigration policies. In June 2025, California Senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed and removed from a press conference in Los Angeles when he attempted to question then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
