New Jersey Detention Centre Protest Turns Violent, Six Arrested in Clashes with ICE

Violent clashes erupted outside the Delaney Hall detention centre in Newark, New Jersey, where protesters confronted armed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers amid allegations that detainees are on a hunger strike over poor living conditions .

Demonstrators gathered outside the privately run facility, with many wearing face coverings and gas masks, forming human chains and erecting makeshift barricades using trash cans, mattresses, and umbrellas. Videos shared on social media showed protesters blocking vehicle movement, throwing objects, and chanting hostile slogans at officers stationed at the gate.

The situation escalated as ICE personnel used pepper spray and batons to disperse the crowd and clear access routes. At least six protesters were arrested , with the Department of Homeland Security stating they were detained for assaulting and obstructing law enforcement officers, adding that such actions would be prosecuted as felonies.

Inside the facility, some detainees were reportedly seen waving from windows, while advocates outside claimed inmates were staging a hunger strike in protest of alleged poor food quality and inadequate medical care. Democratic members of Congress who visited the centre earlier in the day echoed concerns over conditions, though federal officials rejected the allegations.

DHS dismissed claims of abuse or a hunger strike as unfounded and politically motivated, insisting that standards of care were being maintained within the facility.

The confrontation highlights a growing national flashpoint where immigration detention conditions and increasingly aggressive protest crackdowns are colliding in the United States , intensifying debates over enforcement practices, detainee treatment, and civil unrest outside federal facilities.