6 events in Passaic County with a date

Sherrill defends sue of force on protesters

State police take over crowd-control duties for feds at Delaney Hall

By: Hannan Adely
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... As groups of ICE supported and anti-ICE protested faced off outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark on Saturday May 30, [2026] Governor Mikie Sherrill defended the actions of New Jersey State police in riot gear and on horses who on Friday [05/29/2026] night used force to disperse anti-ICE protesters outside the facility.
..... The confrontation came after Sherrill sent in state police to take over public safety duties form federal offices who had previously clashed violently with protesters. Sherrill had sent the state police to keep protesters in a fenced-off "protest zone."
..... "My top priority is keeping New Jerseyans and our communities safe - and an increased ICE surge in the area outside of Delaney Hall is a threat to public safety," Sherrill said in a May 30 [2026] statement. "We know that lives would be at risk were that to happen. And I will not accept that risk."
..... "That is why last night, [05/29/2026] the New Jersey State Police Public Safety Response Team acted to secure the area outside of Delaney Hall," Sherrill said. "This was absolutely necessary to protect public safety and avoid escalation from ICE. As Americans, we have a right to protest - and we will continue to ensure New Jersey residents can peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights."
..... Demonstrators have rallied all week to support detainees who launched a hunger strike on May 22 [2026] at Delaney Hall, truing the Newark facility into a national flash point in the debate over President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration detention expansion.
..... But reports of mass protests and tense confrontations with federal offices sparked outrage, too, and prompted the call for a mass showing of support for U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforce,met on Saturday. [05/30/2026]

Hunger strike to protest poor conditions at detention center

..... Detainees launched the hunger and work strike to protest what they say are poor conditions, including medial neglect, overcrowding, exploitative labor practices, lack of food, and rotten and spoiled meals. The families of detainees and their supporters say guards have also retaliated against them by using pepper spray and physical force.
..... "Today, and going forward, I urge everyone who is protesting to do so peacefully in the safe areas, and work together to bring the temperature down," Sherrill said May 30. [2026] "We need to focus on advocating for better conditions for the detainees, for their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall.
..... By 10:25 AM Saturday, [05/30/2026] care had stated pulling up on Doremus Avenue near the detention center, and groups of protesters dressed in vests, goggles and gas masks were walking toward the facility.
..... A group had set up a small podium with a sign that read, "America First Republicans Support ICE," and were gathering along a fenced area. Anti-ICE protesters were gathering as well, one using a megaphone. The groups started shouting at each other.
..... A jumble of protesters and media filled the street as a vehicle with lights flashing blared its siren to get through. Some protesters carried small American flags. One man held a sign that said, "Bring My Kids Home." Many stood holding cell phones to record the scene.
..... About 15 police in riot gear and holding shields stood in a line observing.
..... By 11:25 AM, as the weather improved and the sun broke through smiling pro-Ice and costumed MAGA protesters stood off against a large group of 20 state police keeping the groups away from the detonation center.
..... "Shut down Delaney Hall, free them all," was the loudest chant from anti-ICE protesters Saturday. [05/30/2026]
..... "Stop the raids, stop the raid,s immigration makes us great," yelled another anti-ICE protester.
..... At aorta 12:45 PM, about 10 proud Boys arrived, creating a stir. They had to pass trough the anti-ICE protesters to join the pro-ICE supporters. a line of state police came before them.

Volunteer tent

..... Away from the heart of the crowd in front of Delaney Hall was a tent that is home to volunteers who have been providing approved clothing, food and support to family members who arrive to visit their detained loved ones.
..... "the headline should be that there are more than 100 men and women inside Delaney who have been organizing for months, and peacefully, including the hunger strikers," said Kathy O'Leary of Pax Christi, which advocates against ICE and private prisons.
..... The county permitted them to erect the tent in February, [2026] she said. It is filled with supplies, food, water and signs.
..... Volunteers who worked with detainees' families use the tent for respite and to regroup.
..... Tensions have soared outside the detention center over the pass week, [05/24-30/2026] where protests at times turned violent as immigration officers charged at crowds, wielded batons and fried pepper spray. The Department of Homeland Security blamed protests for the escalation, saying they had assaulted and thrown objects at federal offices, and that they responded with "minimal force."
..... Sherrill announced Friday [05/29/2026] that New Jersey State Police would take over responsibility for public safety form federal immigration officers to deescalate an increasingly tense situation.
..... Alluding to the protests that turned fatal in Minnesota, Sherrill said that "we know what ICE has done in other states and that Americna citizens have lost their lives." The governed said she is not willing to 'give ICE the pretext to expand operations in our state."
..... But state police, said some protesters, also sued extreme, force as they tried to disperse protesters and push them into a "protest zone." Some protesters wived it as a free speech violation. Others saw it as unwanted cooperation with ICE.

Detainees want a release of vulnerable people

..... Detainees ear demanding an in-person meeting with Sherrill: the release of vulnerable detainees, including elderly people, pregnant women, young people and individuals with serious medical conditions; and fair review of immigration cases and petitions for release on bond.
..... Advocates and elected officials say some have been detained for months without a scheduled hearing, while pressured to sign deportation or voluntary departure documents.
..... Delaney Hall opened on May 1, 2025, as a 1,000-bed private immigration detention center, as part of Trump administration's push to expand detention capacity. It is the larges immigration detention facility on the East Coast.
..... Complaints have mounted since it opened. On June 12, 2025, detainees pushed down a wall during an uprising over alleged poor condition, including insufficient and substandard food. Four escaped but were later caught.
..... GEO Group, the private company that operates the facility, has defended conditions there. it says services including medial care, meals and recreation are monitored by federal agencies and comply wit ICE's detention standards.
..... Democratic lawmakers who have visited the site have called for ICE to close Delaney Hall.
..... On May 28, [2026] just days after Sherrill was denied access to the detention center in Newark, the state's Department of Health was also stopped from obtaining full access to the facility.
..... DHS Secretary Markwaye Mullin has denied that there is a hunger strike in the facility and said on cable news that he is considering moving Customs and Border Protection agents from Newark Airport to Delaney Hall.

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