US senator says he was pepper sprayed by federal agents during protest at ICE facility | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Democratic senator Andy Kim said he was pepper-sprayed by federal agents during a protest at a detention facility in New Jersey on Monday.
Video published on social media It was reported that the detainees demonstrated in the images showing Kim receiving help from a volunteer who poured water into his eyes in front of Delaney Hall in Newark. hunger strike against poor conditions and denial of medical care.
Demonstrators clashed with immigration officers, who used batons and pepper spray as they tried to transfer a hunger-striking detainee to another facility.
New Jersey senator Kim attended the protest with the state’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, to speak with relatives of some of those detained. HE he told USA Today He said the incident in which he was sprayed with a chemical substance occurred shortly after he entered Delaney Hall to see the conditions with his own eyes.
He said a “fight” broke out between protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, who he said deployed an armored vehicle as a roadblock, and he “sort of lined up in front of them” to try to deescalate the situation.
“ICE officials told me that they were going to drive their vehicles through the crowd and wanted to remove some vehicles from there,” Kim said.
“I tried to set up a situation where people wouldn’t get hurt, where there wouldn’t be shootings. Unfortunately, ICE moved on.”
He said people were “struck and knocked to the ground” and that ICE “started advancing with their vehicles” and “started shooting at us with pepper balls and pepper spray.”
“I tried to do what I could by standing in the middle to keep people safe.”
Inside a post Kim said he saw “chaos inside and outside” the facility at X.
“Instead of talking to me and others about the poor conditions, ICE sent an armored vehicle and a number of armed agents who only poured gasoline on the fire,” he wrote.
“What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful. Delaney Hall is a failure; this is a failure of administration. The only way to fix this for our communities is to close it and ensure the failures we have seen never happen again.”
Demonstrators have been at Delaney Hall since Friday, claiming that detainees are denied fresh food and medical care and that the air conditioning is not working.
Tensions rose Sunday when news spread that authorities planned to transfer Martin Soto, the prisoner who announced the strike, to another facility.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman said Monday that “agitators” thwarted the agency’s initial attempt to move him, but he was successfully transferred “later in the evening” to the Elizabeth contract detention facility approximately seven miles away.
The violence continued until the first hours. Around 1 a.m. Monday morning, ICE agents blocked the way to the back door of Delaney Hall, Gothamist. reportedapparently freeing up tools. Demonstrators clashed with ICE agents and some tried to block their vehicles.
Gothamist said ICE agents responded by clearing the area with force, pushing them onto sidewalks and pushing them into parked cars. The website reported that at least one protester was pepper-sprayed and one was injured in the leg.
Several Democratic politicians, including Sherrill and congressman Rob Menendez, were at the demonstration early Monday but were not present when Kim was sprayed.
The senator told USA Today Monday night that his eyes and throat were still burning. He said he would continue to fight the lawlessness and irresponsibility of the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress.
DHS one Publish on XHe blamed “rioters” for the violence.
“No individuals were hit directly by pepper ball rounds,” the post said.
“On May 25, 2026, rioters blocked law enforcement from exiting an ICE facility. Officers gave multiple lawful verbal orders for rioters to clear the area. Rioters refused to comply with law enforcement’s commands and continued to block the route of exit. Our law enforcement officers followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.
“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly, not riot. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
Monday’s violence comes as the Trump administration’s efforts to pass a $70 billion funding measure for ICE and border patrol have stalled. Senate Republicans last week derailed the bill, at least temporarily, over disagreements over Donald Trump’s plans to open a ballroom at the White House and the creation of a $1.8 billion “counterproliferation” fund that could enrich the Jan. 6 rioters.
Meanwhile, Kim became the latest Democratic senator to face violence for challenging Trump’s immigration policies. In June of last year, California senator Alex Padilla was handcuffed and bundled out at a news conference in Los Angeles while trying to question then-homeland security secretary Kristi Noem.
