NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is sending in state police to bring order outside an immigration detention center in Newark that has been the site of violent demonstrations and arrests in recent days.
The Democrat announced Friday that police will create designated protest zones and set up vehicle checkpoints to regulate traffic outside Delaney Hall as clashes between protesters and federal immigration enforcement officials have intensified.
“It has grown unsafe, and that’s completely unacceptable,” Sherrill said at a news conference along with other state officials. “We need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature.”
Spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the GEO Group, the private firm that runs the facility, didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The protests began last Friday after immigrant advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility, which opened last May.
Demonstrators have been attempting to block people and vehicles from entering and exiting the building. They have linked arms in a human chain and used trash cans, umbrellas and other materials as makeshift shields and barricades.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wearing helmets and tactical vests have used pepper spray and batons to try and disperse the protesters and clear the roadway for vehicles.
At least six demonstrators were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers Wednesday night, and more have been arrested on other nights of the protests, DHS has said.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday shared images of some of the bloody wounds and bruises sustained by ICE officers.
“These riots are clearly not ‘peaceful protests’ as you can see from the photos of these horrific wounds,” he wrote in a social media post. “Assault a federal officer, you’ll be held accountable.”
Demonstrators outside Delaney Hall Friday had mixed reactions to the new safety measures.
Rachel Cohen said she was concerned police were being sent to silence demonstrators “who are showing up for their neighbors, exercising their First Amendment right.”
“It is not helpful to quell protest for the sake of a false peace,” she said. “There is no peace while we are torturing our neighbors on government dime inside this facility.”
But Lisa O’Dwyer said she has found separate areas for protesters “very helpful” in her many years of activism.
“I like to get my point across and stay safe at the same time,” the Westfield resident said.
Eyesha Marable, pastor at Mt. Zion AME Church in Millburn, agreed, even as she acknowledged there are “different schools of thought” among protesters.
“There are people here who are angry. Their family members are inside. Their friends are inside. People have been taken off the streets, out of their communities,” she said.
“We have to keep the peace,” Marable said. “The goal is to get our people free, to get them liberated, and we cannot do that if we’re fighting out here.”
ICE officers currently lining the the center’s entry have agreed to stand down as state police take over public safety responsibilities, said State Police Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz.
In addition to the protest zones, police will also be setting up vehicle checkpoints to regulate traffic and assure safe passage, he said.
“We want everyone to have the right to peacefully assemble, and to exercise their constitutionally protected rights,” Sierotowicz said.
State Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said it is important to “de-escalate the situation” as “violence, either against protesters or by protesters, is unacceptable.”
Sherril stressed that she doesn’t want to give ICE “pretext” to expand operations in the state.
“We all need to do everything we can to cool things down now,” she said.
The governor was among a group of Democratic officials who tried to visit detainees on Monday but were denied entry.
Democratic members of Congress from New York City, however, were able to tour Delaney Hall on Tuesday and described dire conditions where detainees are fed small portions of often spoiled food and their varied medical needs are ignored.
The families of detainees and their supporters say their loved ones have also been subjected to pepper spray and physical force in retaliation for their hunger strike and the protests outside.
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Marcelo reported from New York.
