Protests against immigration enforcement at a facility where detainees are on a hunger and labor strike erupted in fresh violence on Tuesday night as federal officers sprayed chemicals and charged demonstrators outside the jail in New Jersey.
Escalation After Senator Incident
Following hours of relative quiet, a day after masked and armored Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel pepper-sprayed US Senator Andy Kim, tension ramped up again outside the Delaney Hall facility on the fifth day of the strike. At one point on Tuesday evening, a protester who threw an object at ICE officers was chased by dozens of officials, Tasered, and then carried into the jail.
Hunger Strike Demands
The Newark-based ICE facility is operated by GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the US. According to activists and detainees, between 300 and 400 detainees are participating in the strike, demanding improved food, ventilation, medical care, and for their immigration cases to proceed. The hunger and work strike comes as the Trump administration continues its controversial mass deportation campaign targeting immigrants nationwide.
A letter from detainees was published by advocates on Tuesday morning. Two men recently released from Delaney confirmed in interviews their participation in the strike, despite denials by the Trump administration that any such strike is happening. “We are detained, we are on hunger strike, demanding due process rights and the improvement of conditions,” one man said. “We are not criminals. We are people who enter with a clean record. We pay our taxes. Fathers. Mothers. Spouses of citizens with existing petitions.”
Released Detainee Speaks Out
On Tuesday afternoon, Luis was released from Delaney Hall and huddled with immigration advocates. He spoke with the Guardian minutes later, requesting anonymity for fear of retaliation. He said he was detained by ICE during a routine check-in, a practice that has become more common under the second Trump administration. He had been locked up for three and a half months. “If they freed us, we wouldn’t generate profit for this business,” Luis said, referring to GEO Group. “If we are going to be detained for months so that this company can profit, they should at least provide a better ‘service’.”
GEO Group Response
In response to questions, GEO Group provided a statement saying the company provides “around-the-clock access to medical care, in-person and virtual legal and family visitation, general and legal library access” and other services, including meals. The spokesperson added that all services are monitored by ICE, and they are “proud of the role our company has played for 40 years to support the law enforcement mission” of ICE.
Political Tensions
As nighttime approached on Tuesday, a line of ICE officers armed with guns, batons, Tasers, and pepper spray stood outside the facility gates, occasionally pushing the crowd back. This followed a hectic weekend of demonstrations. On Monday, Democratic lawmakers including Senator Andy Kim and Governor Mikie Sherrill attempted to enter the facility. Kim has declared conditions are “inhumane”.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused the politicians of “spreading smears” and denied the strike. “There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall. There are no subprime conditions,” Mullin posted. He said detainees receive three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, toiletries, and comprehensive medical care.
Detainee Complaints
Delaney Hall strikers have complained of inedible food containing worms, deficient infrastructure with no air conditioning, poor ventilation, a persistent flu, delayed medical care, and lags in immigration cases, according to their Tuesday letter. In privately-run ICE detention centers nationwide, detainees perform cooking, cleaning, and laundry work for as little as $1 a day.
“One thing about this entire chaotic situation has been consistent, and that is what people inside are reporting about their experience and what our federal representatives have witnessed,” said Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. “Conditions were bad enough for people to lose their pregnancies. They were bad enough to start a lice infestation, to have a strain of flu that has been going around untreated. That’s what got people to strike.”
Senator Kim's Allegations
Kim posted a series of allegations about Delaney Hall, including that a woman had a miscarriage at the facility and had to cope alone, another pregnant woman was unable to get full OB/GYN support, and people were detained after being arrested during green card interviews. Mullin called the lawmakers’ attempts to enter Delaney “a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks.”
Protest Dynamics
The facility sits in an industrial part of Newark, surrounded by factories. The air was putrid, smelling like sewage and chemicals, worsened by Tuesday’s heat. Protesters chanted and yelled at ICE officials, while one pro-ICE counter-protester arrived and exchanged insults. At around 7:30 pm, a protester threw an umbrella at an ICE official, prompting agents to rush the crowd, firing pepper spray. For hours, the dynamic played out repeatedly, with protesters throwing items and officers responding with spray. At least seven journalists were sprayed.
At one point, officers chased a protester across train tracks, and an ICE officer Tasered him in the back. The protester fell, was picked up, and carried into the facility. “Tonight, ICE law enforcement officers were assaulted by anti-ICE rioters who sprayed law enforcement with an unknown chemical substance,” Mullin said. Two individuals were arrested.
Families with small children arrived to visit loved ones but were turned away. One released detainee said, “I was in there for three and a half months. It’s heavy, we’re still not eating. I hope they help the ones inside.” He spoke in Spanish, trembling, and declined to give his name.
Strike Continues
The strike will continue until Sherrill enters and meets with detainees, Luis said. On Monday, Sherrill was denied entry. ICE detention in New Jersey has been a political tension point for years. A 2021 state law barring private facilities for immigration detention was struck down after a lawsuit by a private prison company supported by the Biden administration. ICE then entered a 15-year contract with GEO Group to reopen Delaney Hall, which began detaining immigrants in May 2025.
Since then, Delaney Hall has been a protest target. Last May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested after requesting entry, and US Representative LaMonica McIver was charged after a skirmish. In June, detainees pushed down a wall and four escaped. In December, a Haitian man died of “suspected natural causes.”
“The stories coming out of what is going on inside are horrendous,” said Catalina Adorno, a volunteer with Cosecha. “We want to make sure they’re being heard. It wasn’t until Friday that they were like: ‘We don’t think we’re being heard. No one is listening to us.’ So on Friday, they decided to launch their strike.”
Following the strike announcement, Delaney Hall staff reportedly removed tablets from units, limiting communication. DHS said all visits are “currently suspended due to riots outside the facility.” The detained immigrants are determined to continue the strike. On Monday, a hunger-striking man fainted; staff did not help, so others gave him water with salt and sugar, encouraging him to eat.
Protests continued late into the night. Torres pointed to ICE officers’ tactics: “If this is what federal agents are willing to do to the public, what are they doing to the people they have in detention?”
