Detainees at Delaney Hall immigration detention center broke through a wall Thursday after late meals led to unrest inside the facility. The incident drew renewed criticism from Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who has repeatedly challenged federal immigration enforcement in the city.
About 50 detainees in a third-floor dormitory pushed through an exterior wall after meals arrived several hours late. An attorney with a client inside said the group had grown increasingly frustrated over food delays and poor conditions. Bed sheets were seen hanging from the area, and the detainee reported the smell of gas during the disturbance.
Outside the facility, roughly three dozen protesters gathered as the disruption unfolded. Demonstrators locked arms and pushed against barriers while vehicles entered through the main gate. Officers in tactical gear responded around 6 p.m. and removed several protesters from the entrance. A local immigrant advocacy group said some suffered minor injuries.
Video captures a van charging past angry protesters at the Newark ICE facility, where detainees protested after going 20 hours without lunch.
Vans barrel past protestors into the street at Delaney Hall where people in detention were protesting insufficient lunch after a 20 hr period of NO food pic.twitter.com/9IAKEivQxk — NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice (@NJAIJ) June 13, 2025
Baraka has criticized the Newark ICE facility since it opened earlier this year under a federal contract. He called attention to reports of poor treatment and lack of oversight. In May, officers arrested him during a protest outside the same facility. Authorities later dropped the trespassing charge.
Federal agencies have not confirmed whether any detainees escaped. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not issued a public statement on the incident as of Friday morning.
Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility on Doremus Avenue, has become a flashpoint between federal officials and New Jersey Democrats. Rep. LaMonica McIver also faces charges from an earlier protest outside the facility. She has denied any wrongdoing and maintains her presence was part of official oversight.
Calls for investigations into the facility’s operations continue to grow following Thursday’s events.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.