Federal officials visit Newark immigration detention center
New Jersey State Representatives Nellie Powe and Rob Menendez visited Delaney Hall at the Newark Detention Center on the morning of May 11th.
Sen. Andy Kim said he was pepper-sprayed Monday afternoon outside Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, after visiting the facility to support detainees who were on hunger strike.
The incident occurred later the same day, when Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill said he tried to access Delaney Hall but was denied entry to the facility.
Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, spoke by phone Monday night after the incident to NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network, about the “chaos” inside the facility and the “lawlessness of the Trump administration” that caused the situation inside and outside.
New Jersey’s junior senator had visited the facility to support detainees in a hunger strike that began late last week, protesting treatment including a lack of air conditioning and fresh food.
Senator describes ‘standoff’ outside New Jersey ICE detention facility
“I called (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary Markwayne Mullin directly and asked him to intervene” in order to get him into custody, the senator said.
Kim said that when he left the jail, he discovered a “standoff” as armed federal agents brought out armored vehicles and tried to erect barricades to keep protesters away from the fence and entrance to Delaney Hall.
Kim said the protesters “felt like they were lined up in front of us” and “tried to get in between the ICE officers and the crowd to defuse the tension.”
“ICE officials told me they were trying to drive through the crowd and wanted to get some vehicles out of there,” Kim said. “We tried to create a situation where people didn’t get hurt and there weren’t any collisions. Unfortunately, ICE stayed put.”
“I immediately saw people being tackled and pushed to the ground,” he said, adding that ICE “started moving in with vehicles.”
Sen. Andy Kim: “We tried to do the best we could”
Kim said she ran again and tried to place herself between the ICE officers and the crowd to prevent the situation from escalating when agents “started firing pepper balls and pepper spray at us.”
“I stood in the middle and tried to do whatever I could to keep people safe,” he said.
Kim said several of the congressman’s colleagues had visited Delaney Hall earlier in the day and had accompanied him on previous visits, but were not there when the confrontation occurred.
Kim said her eyes and throat still sting. He said the “chaos emerging on New Jersey’s streets” is the result of “the lawlessness and irresponsibility perpetuated by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.”
He highlighted legislation currently before Congress that would provide “tens of billions of dollars” to fund ICE as the war in Iran continues and affordability issues persist across the country.
Governor Mikie Sherrill refuses entry to Delaney Hall
“This morning, our request to enter Delaney Hall was formally denied, raising serious questions about what they are trying to hide from the public,” Sherrill said in a May 25 statement.
Kristin Cuttita, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said Sherrill’s visit was “nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day, when visits are currently suspended due to violence outside the facility.”
Kim said she has visited the facility several times and said inmates she has met there include an 18-year-old girl who wanted to return to her family and graduate from high school, and a pregnant woman who was unable to get the care she needed.
The senator described conditions inside as “inhumane.”
Detainees are demanding the release of the elderly, young, seriously ill and injured.
The strike followed complaints from detainees alleging medical neglect, lack of air conditioning, food shortages, and spoiled and spoiled food. On Saturday, May 23, immigrant advocacy groups claimed that several detainees involved in the strike were subject to retaliation. One person was threatened with solitary confinement, and at least two others had their visiting hours reduced to just five to 10 minutes, advocates said.
Who is Delaney Hall?
Delaney Hall opened on May 1, 2025 as a 1,000-bed private immigration detention center as part of the Trump administration’s aggressive push to expand capacity.
New Jersey state legislators are conducting surveillance visits to assess the alleged situation.
Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver faces federal assault charges for allegedly punching a federal agent during a scuffle outside the facility last spring.
Kim said the overall picture is not about himself or his situation, but is “representative of the illegal activities that are happening right now.”
“We must continue to focus on detainees who deserve more rights and should never be treated the way they are, and families who are simply trying to protect their loved ones and move on,” Kim said.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey State Legislature. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
