Heavy police response as ICE supporters and protesters face off outside New Jersey’s Delaney Hall

The crowd increased outside Delaney Hall On Saturday morning, a group supporting ICE confronted protesters outside the ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey.

Law enforcement arrived at the scene on yellow and blue motorcycles and SUVs to control the crowd, while other police officers set up metal barricades to keep the two groups separate.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said some “national extremist groups” were involved in the protest at the facility on Saturday, but did not specify which groups.

As more people arrived at the protest, a SWAT team arrived in full gear, including officers from area police departments and the New Jersey State Police. The protest has remained orderly since then, state police Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz said at an afternoon news conference.

The security perimeter around the detention center was greatly expanded throughout the night. State police checkpoints were set up at both street ends of Delaney Hall, and officers blocked access to vehicles at least a half-mile away.

Cement barricades were placed on the street, and new fence cables and traffic barricades were installed outside the facility’s entrance gates.

Organizers of the “Support ICE” rally urged attendees to stay safe, peaceful and obey the law.

The protest broke out Friday night, hours after New Jersey State Police cleared the area. threw gas canisters and fireworks Officers escorted vehicles carrying employees out of the ICE facility.

Six protesters were arrested Friday night, five of whom were from out of state, according to the governor.

Protesters gathered outside the privately owned 1,000-bed facility for days. Inhumane conditions alleged for months.

Tensions first escalated over Memorial Day weekend. Hundreds of prisoners went on hunger strike Some of the lawyers said they came to protest spoiled food and poor conditions.

At a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin criticized politicians who spoke about conditions at the facility, saying “there were only a handful of people who refused to eat because they wanted their ethnic group or ethnically correct food.”

“Many detainees have worms in their food, and I’m not saying it’s an ‘ethnic food choice’ as Mr. Mullin stated. They just don’t want to eat worms,” ​​said Alex Minogue, an attorney at Nova Law Group. The person representing people at the facility told CNN on Saturday.

DHS continued to backtrack against allegations of inhumane living conditions.

“Sanctuary politicians are spreading categorically false smears about ICE’s Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey. Such smears are inciting violent riots outside the ICE facility in New Jersey,” Acting Deputy Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement Friday.

The statement continued: “No lawbreaker in the history of human civilization has been treated better than illegal aliens. They are given 3 meals a day, provided with medical care, and given full legal due process.”

State police set up a protest zone in front of Delaney Hall

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New Jersey officials announced Friday that state police would take over public safety operations from ICE agents outside Delaney Hall “to help lower the temperature” after days of protests that have escalated at times.

“Our top priority is public safety, and we must take this opportunity to lower the temperature,” Sherrill said at a news conference Friday.

Sherrill said state police will establish a “peaceful, protected protest zone in the area just outside Delaney Hall.”

The governor renewed his appeal to demonstrators on Saturday, urging them to “protest peacefully in safe areas and work together to lower the temperature.”

“We must focus on advocating for better conditions for inmates and their families and, ultimately, the closure of Delaney Hall,” Sherrill said.

At Friday’s press conference, Sierotowicz said ICE “agreed to remove themselves from the immediate area, reducing potential agitation by protesters.”

This happened after employees at GEO Group, which operates Delaney Hall, painted yellow lines on the pavement and posted “private property” and “no trespassing” signs outside the facility’s main entry points on Friday morning.

While DHS told CNN the state’s announcement was “a victory for law and order,” it doubled down on the governor’s previous statements that he did not allow state police to assist ICE officers at protests.

In a statement Friday, Mullin thanked the governor “for now allowing the New Jersey State Police to cooperate with us.”

He added in a speech: “We support the constitutional right of every American to peacefully protest. No one has the right to enforce the laws of WICKED and ASSAULT.” expression on Saturday. “We hope to build on this partnership and work together to eliminate the worst of the worst from New Jersey communities.”

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Clashes continued throughout the night

Clashes between protesters and state police troopers, some on horseback, occurred Friday night as troopers tried to clear the way for vehicles to exit the facility, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement. expression.

“A limited number of individuals failed to comply with repeated requests to provide safe passage for vehicles and endangered everyone by engaging in dangerous actions such as setting off fireworks and throwing gas canisters at law enforcement,” Davenport said.

Law enforcement issued multiple dispersal notices to give protesters “multiple opportunities to comply” as “agitators surrounded a marked enforcement vehicle and made threats to personnel, creating immediate safety concerns,” Sierotowicz said Saturday.

He added that following orders to disperse, people were seen taking masks, gas masks, fireworks, rocks and other projectiles from a nearby tent area.

Video from Freedom News TV obtained by CNN showed mounted soldiers riding through crowds on their horses to push back protesters. Protesters were later seen pelting IYM vehicles with kitchen towels and garbage while trash was strewn on the ground.

State police kept “hand-to-hand interaction” to a minimum and no troopers fired rubber bullets or hit anyone with a baton Friday night, Davenport said Saturday.

CNN reached out to DHS for additional details about the protest Friday night.

Nine people were arrested during similar protests Thursday night, Mullin told CNN. “Anyone who attacks law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.

DHS had previously said it would consider this issue, depending on how the protests continue. Dismissal of Customs and Border Protection officers A move that could cause delays in air travel to assist agents outside Delaney Hall at Newark Airport.

“Increasing icing in the area outside Delaney Hall is a threat to public safety. We know lives will be at risk if this happens. And I will not accept that risk,” Sherrill said in a statement Saturday.

The governor said state police’s action to clear the area outside the ICE facility was critical.

“This was absolutely necessary to protect public safety and prevent ICE from escalating,” he said.

CNN’s Holly Yan, David Williams, Taylor Romine, Sarah Boxer, Chris Boyette, Sarah Dewberry and Hanna Park contributed to this report.

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