Why Riot Police and Horses Just Swept Newark Anti-ICE Facility Encampment
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Newark NJ, A escalating border-policy battle in North Jersey erupted into chaos overnight as Governor Mikie Sherrill deployed the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) to take physical control of the perimeter outside a massive federal facility.
Late Friday night, state troopers equipped with riot gear and mounted on horses used force to clear out a sprawling anti-ICE protest camp outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. The aggressive sweep comes at a critical moment, as crowds of pro-ICE counter-protesters are currently mobilizing for a major scheduled rally directly outside the facility’s gates.
The Midnight Mandate: Free Speech Zone vs. Extreme Force
The emergency intervention represents a dramatic shift in local strategy. Governor Sherrill ordered state police to assume security duties from federal immigration officers following a week of volatile skirmishes at the site. The goal was to enforce a strict, fenced-off “protest zone” and de-escalate the area, but the nighttime clearing operation has left both sides furious.
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The State’s Defense: Governor Sherrill strongly defended the tactical sweep on Saturday morning. “An increased ICE surge in the area outside of Delaney Hall is a threat to public safety,” Sherrill declared. “The New Jersey State Police Public Safety Response Team acted to secure the area… This was absolutely necessary to avoid escalation from ICE.”
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The Activists’ Outrage: Protesters on the ground reported that state police used heavy-handed methods to dismantle their encampment, giving them a brief 15-minute window to clear out. Activists viewed the sweep as an unconstitutional violation of their First Amendment rights and slammed the state for actively cooperating with federal immigration objectives.
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The Federal Response: Following the NJSP operation, activists attempted to rebuild the camp. However, a federal Special Response Team (SRT) immediately deployed from inside the facility to permanently dismantle the remaining structures.
Inside the Multi-Day Hunger Strike
The intense blockades were originally triggered on May 22, 2026, when detainees inside Delaney Hall launched a coordinated hunger and work strike to protest allegedly unlivable conditions.
According to families and advocacy groups, detainees are protesting severe overcrowding, systematic medical neglect, lack of basic nutrition, and retaliatory guard violence involving pepper spray.
The strikers are demanding an immediate, face-to-face meeting with Gov. Sherrill, expedited bond hearings, and the release of vulnerable individuals—including pregnant women, the elderly, and those with severe, unaddressed medical conditions. Conversely, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin has publicly denied that any hunger strike is taking place inside the building, even suggesting he may reallocate Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents from Newark Liberty International Airport to further reinforce the facility.
The Contentious History of the East Coast’s Largest Detention Center
Delaney Hall has long been a lightning rod for regional political theater and infrastructure controversy:
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The 2011–2017 Run: Originally operated by private corrections giant GEO Group, the center held federal immigrant detainees under a contract spanning the Obama administration through the first year of the Trump administration.
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The $1 Billion Reopening: After sitting completely vacant by late 2023, the facility was completely revived under a fresh 15-year, $1 billion ICE contract with the GEO Group. Reopening on May 1, 2025, as a 1,000-bed complex, it is officially the largest private immigration detention asset on the East Coast.
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Past Security Breaches: The facility has been plagued by operational issues since its relaunch. In June 2025, detainees successfully breached an interior wall during an organized uprising over substandard food, resulting in a brief escape of four individuals who were later recaptured.
With state health inspectors recently blocked from entering the building to conduct wellness checks, the physical clash outside Delaney Hall marks a dangerous new chapter in the ongoing clash between state leadership and federal immigration enforcement.
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