Protesters returned to Delaney Hall, an immigrant detention centre outside Newark, after reports that detainees were staging a hunger strike. The facility reopened in February 2025 after a closure and is part of a network intended to hold large numbers of immigrants targeted for deportation. Local officials said the centre was repurposed without proper permits and approvals. Critics alleged human rights abuses inside the facility. New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said health authorities seeking to inspect the site were denied full access, raising concerns about what ICE was concealing. Protesters attempted to block access and clashed with law enforcement, with federal authorities reporting arrests for alleged assaulting of agents.
"Protesters have returned to the Delaney Hall immigrant detention centre in the United States, a site that has become one of many flashpoints in President Donald Trumps push for mass deportation. The centre, located outside Newark, New Jersey, has long been controversial. Reopened in February 2025 after a period of closure, Delaney Hall is part of a web of immigration detention centres designed to accommodate the thousands of immigrants Trump seeks to expel in his second term."
"Local officials, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, have maintained that the facility was repurposed without the proper permits and approvals. Critics have also decried the conditions inside the facility, claiming human rights abuses. The latest round of protests has been unfolding this month in response to reports that detainees are staging a hunger strike inside Delaney Hall."
"New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said that health authorities seeking to inspect the facility were denied full access. As I've said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said in a statement on Thursday. Elected last year, the Democratic governor has backed calls for the facility to be closed."
"On Wednesday night, protesters clashed with law enforcement as they attempted to block access to Delaney Hall. Demonstrators, some wearing gas masks, erected makeshift barriers and linked arms to form a human chain. According to the Department of Homeland Security, six demonstrators had been arrested for allegedly assaulting federal agents overnight. Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony, the department said in a statement."
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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