Tensions outside Delaney Hall rise again as local law enforcement scales back presence
Tensions rose once again this weekend outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, after the mayor scaled back local law enforcement.
Residents are conflicted over the city's response.
4 arrested after attacking cars
Friday, protesters were caught on camera kicking and smashing cars belonging to employees of the GEO Group, the private company that owns and operates Delaney Hall.
At least four people were arrested, including a man from Seattle seen snapping windshield wipers. One person was struck by a car leaving the facility.
In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said: "On the night of June 5, 2026, ICE law enforcement officers arrested 4 rioters for assault of law enforcement officers, obstruction, and threats. NJ authorities arrested a rioter who broke a car windshield. Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony. Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. RIOTERS will not slow us down and ICE operations remain undeterred."
There was another intense showdown Saturday as ICE agents stormed out with pepper ball guns and spray, pushing back protesters who were blocking vehicles from entering the facility.
"It's almost like we're at war out here," protester Dan Z. said. "They're treating this like it's a battlefield, almost."
Newark residents divided
These clashes happened after Mayor Ras Baraka announced the city would scale back its local police presence at the facility, a decision that's dividing Newark residents.
"It's not a waste because it's in our town, his town. They should be there," Newark resident Vicky Smith said.
"There's crime all over this city," Newark resident Lamont Vaughn said. "There's things going on all over this city that those officers could have been better used for."
Baraka defended the move in a statement earlier this week, saying the city "will not spend resources and taxpayer dollars in an already strapped budget to safeguard a privately-owned facility."
His office did not respond to questions about if the incidents this weekend will change the city's plans.
Some accused him of political posturing.
"If he genuinely cared, he would care about the citizens who were here first," Newark resident Kenya Verdasca said.
Other believe the mayor's approach, from setting a curfew to sending in officers, has helped bring some order to the chaos.
"I believe that the federal government need to step in and do more than what they're doing instead of allowing ICE officers to escalate the situation down there," Newark resident Sharif Amenhotep said.
