Overview
- Gov. Mikie Sherrill ordered New Jersey State Police Friday to establish a protected protest zone outside Delaney Hall and to take over public-safety operations while ICE agreed to pull back from the facility's immediate entry area.
- Federal officials and GEO Group say officers used limited chemical agents and pepper spray to control detainee fights and to disperse protesters, and DHS reported nine arrests during the recent clashes.
- Detainees and advocates say hundreds are on a hunger and labor strike, citing spoiled food and limited medical care, while DHS and GEO deny a facility-wide hunger strike and insist detainees receive required meals and care.
- State health officials say they were denied full access for a health inspection and were confined to a food-service review, a claim disputed by DHS which says four state inspectors inspected the kitchen on Thursday.
- Delaney Hall is a privately run, roughly 1,000-bed ICE facility opened in 2025 and the standoff has raised calls for independent oversight, threatened prosecutions for violent threats against agents, and increased the risk of further clashes as rival rallies are planned.