Clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, since late May have resulted in more than 80 arrests, according to the Associated Press.
Protesters gather daily at the 1,000-bed facility in solidarity with detainees who have accused staff of providing spoiled food, inadequate medical care, and other substandard living conditions. The demonstrations have become one of the most visible recent flashpoints for opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed a curfew around the center in early June after clashes between protesters and police, as MSI previously reported. On May 30, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) said she had dispatched New Jersey State Police to establish a designated protest zone at the facility.
Demonstrators have also alleged that police have used excessive force against them, a claim state and local authorities have contested. State and municipal law enforcement agencies have provided a limited number of official statements on the matter, according to the AP.
The Trump administration has defended the treatment of detainees at Delaney Hall. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have said the facility meets federal detention standards. Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, has described conditions at the facility as adequate and has said the administration will not be deterred by protests.
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, a Trump ally, has also publicly backed the facility’s management and accused protesters of obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
Democratic lawmakers who visited the detention center in late May described conditions they called dire, including allegations of a hunger strike among detainees and reports of spoiled food.
The protests are ongoing.