Curfews, Tear Gas, and a Hunger Strike: How Newark's Delaney Hall Became the Epicenter of America's Immigration Fight

On the night of May 31, 2026, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka signed an order imposing a mandatory curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. within a half-mile radius of Delaney Hall, the federal immigration detention facility that has become the most contested piece of real estate in American politics [1]. The curfew capped a nine-day stretch that saw a mass hunger strike inside the facility, nightly clashes between protesters and law enforcement outside it, the deployment of New Jersey State Police in riot gear on horseback, tear gas dispersed against crowds, journalists beaten by federal agents, and a threat by the Secretary of Homeland Security to shut down international flights at Newark Liberty Airport [2][3].

The confrontation at Delaney Hall sits at the intersection of federal immigration enforcement, local resistance, civil liberties, and a presidential administration willing to escalate. What follows is a reconstruction of how it got to this point, what the curfew actually means, and who stands to bear its costs.

The Facility: From Halfway House to Federal Detention Center

Delaney Hall is a 1,000-bed facility on Doremus Avenue in Newark's Ironbound section. It previously operated as a halfway house. In February 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded the GEO Group — one of the largest private prison operators in the country — a $1 billion, 15-year contract to convert and operate the site as an immigration detention center [4]. The facility began receiving detainees in May 2025 [4].

The city of Newark fought the opening from the start. Mayor Baraka announced in March 2025 that he would padlock the building, and the city filed suit in New Jersey Superior Court alleging that GEO Group was renovating the facility without proper permits and lacked a valid certificate of occupancy [5]. GEO Group countered that a 2007 certificate remained in effect and argued in a 37-page court filing that because ICE holds a contract with the company, and ICE is shielded by sovereign immunity, the entire case should be dismissed [6]. A federal magistrate judge referred the case to mediation, with talks ordered to conclude by June 15, 2026 [7].

On May 9, 2025, Baraka himself was arrested by federal agents while protesting at the facility. He was held for several hours before the trespassing charge was dropped [8]. He later sued the federal prosecutor, alleging the arrest was politically motivated [9].

Source: Multiple news sources

Data as of Jun 1, 2026CSV

Inside: The Hunger Strike

The current crisis was triggered on May 22, 2026, when approximately 300 of the facility's detainees launched a coordinated hunger and labor strike [10]. Lawyers representing the detainees allege conditions including spoiled and maggot-infested food, overcrowded and extremely cold cells without blankets, forced sleeping on floors, cold-water-only showers, and denial of medical care to individuals with serious conditions including cancer and diabetes [11][12].

Nearly 300 detainees signed an open letter describing what they called physical and psychological torture and demanding the release of elderly detainees, very young detainees, and those with serious medical conditions [11]. Multiple detainees have been hospitalized during the hunger strike [13].

The facility has a grim recent history. In June 2025, four detainees escaped after dozens mounted an uprising over conditions; all four were eventually recaptured [14]. In December 2025, 41-year-old Jean Wilson Brutus died in custody at Delaney Hall [15].

The Federal Government's Position

DHS issued a "Correct the Record" statement on May 29, 2026, denying many of the allegations. The department stated that all detainees are "provided 3 meals a day, with meals certified by dieticians," and that detainees receive "comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody, including medical, dental, and mental health services" [16]. DHS denied that a hunger strike was taking place [16].

The gap between these official assertions and the accounts of detainees, their lawyers, and advocacy organizations like the Detention Watch Network — which reported that over 200 people remained on strike as of late May — remains unresolved [10]. No independent audit of the facility's conditions has been made public. Governor Sherrill said she was denied access when she attempted to inspect the facility on May 26 [17].

Outside: Nine Days of Protest and Escalation

Protests outside Delaney Hall began in late May 2026, initially organized by immigrant advocacy groups and family members of detainees. Demonstrators formed human chains and barricades around the facility's entrance [2].

The situation escalated rapidly. On the night of May 28, ICE agents clashed directly with protesters. An amNewYork report described agents shoving a protester into the path of an oncoming truck and beating and pepper-spraying others [18]. That same night, staff inside the facility allegedly used pepper spray and batons against striking detainees and began transferring protest leaders to other facilities [19].

Nine protesters were arrested in connection with the May 28 clashes, according to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche [3]. Charges included assault on federal officers; one individual, Brendan John Geier, was charged with kicking and biting federal agents [20]. Another was charged with illegal possession of a weapon [21].

State Police Take Over

On May 29, Governor Sherrill ordered New Jersey State Police to take control of the perimeter around Delaney Hall, replacing ICE agents in managing the protest zone [22]. The stated rationale was to prevent ICE agents from directly confronting protesters, which Sherrill said "creates an incredibly dangerous situation" [22].

The deployment did not calm the situation. On the nights of May 29 and 30, state troopers used mounted officers, shields, and tear gas to clear areas around the facility [23]. Six people were arrested Friday night; five of the six were from out of state, a fact Sherrill emphasized in calling them "outside agitators" [24]. Three more were arrested Saturday night [25].

Source: ABC News, NBC News

Data as of Jun 1, 2026CSV

The ACLU of New Jersey condemned the state police response, arguing officers used "unnecessary force against what the organization described as overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators" [26]. The organization stated: "the burden is on the state to demonstrate that it values the First Amendment rights of protesters" [27].

Journalists Under Fire

Among the most alarming reports from the protest site are accounts from journalists. Reuters photojournalist Ryan Murphy reported being beaten with a baton over several nights, saying agents aimed for his camera and broke his finger [28]. Photographer Mostafa Bassim reported that an ICE agent struck his camera "with his baton using full force," snapping the lens in half, despite Bassim being "clearly identified as press" [28]. A WNBC news crew was removed from their vehicle as state police deployed tear gas [29].

These incidents have drawn condemnation from press freedom organizations and raised questions about whether journalists were deliberately targeted to limit documentation of the law enforcement response.

The Curfew: Terms, Authority, and Consequences

The curfew imposed by Mayor Baraka on May 31 covers all areas within a half-mile of Delaney Hall and runs nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice [1]. Doremus Avenue — the main road alongside the facility — is closed to all pedestrian traffic during curfew hours, with vehicle access restricted to those with "verified official business" [1][30].

Baraka cited "the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention" as justification, noting that "multiple individuals have already been arrested and found in possession of weapons" [30]. The legal authority for the curfew derives from municipal emergency powers under New Jersey law, though the ACLU has historically challenged such curfews — a New Jersey appeals court previously struck down a West New York curfew as unconstitutional [31].

No exemptions for shift workers, residents, or small businesses within the curfew zone have been publicly detailed, a gap that civil liberties advocates are likely to challenge. The Ironbound neighborhood, which borders the curfew zone, is a working-class area with a significant immigrant population. Any restriction on nighttime movement in that area disproportionately affects low-income workers, including those employed in the area's warehouses, restaurants, and industrial facilities.

A Curfew Backed by the Governor

Governor Sherrill endorsed the curfew and announced that DHS had agreed to resume family visitation at Delaney Hall — limited visitation began Sunday at noon, with regular visitation restarting Monday [22]. The concession on visitation was widely seen as a quid pro quo for the curfew, which effectively ends nighttime protests.

The Political Players

Ras Baraka

Newark's mayor has been the most visible municipal opponent of Delaney Hall since before it opened. He attempted to physically block the facility's opening, was arrested protesting there, and has filed multiple legal challenges against its operator [5][8][9]. His imposition of the curfew appears to mark a tactical shift — from street confrontation to a managed containment strategy that limits the protest's intensity while also reducing the nightly clashes that were generating negative headlines and federal threats.

Mikie Sherrill

New Jersey's governor occupies a politically complex position. Since taking office in January 2026, she has signed legislation restricting local police cooperation with ICE, created a portal for residents to report ICE activity, sued to block a federal detention facility in Roxbury, and signed an executive order barring immigration agents from some state property [32][33]. She has positioned herself as one of the most aggressive state-level opponents of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement.

Yet her deployment of state police — with tear gas and mounted officers — against protesters at an ICE facility has drawn sharp criticism from the left. Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker accused Sherrill of "aiding the Trump administration's immigration agenda" during a widely viewed livestream, calling state troopers "brutalizing New Jerseyans" [34]. Sherrill defended the deployment as "absolutely necessary" to prevent ICE agents from "swarming the area" and insisted she refused to "back down in fighting the Trump administration" [22].

The tension illustrates a dilemma facing Democratic officials who oppose federal immigration policy but are responsible for public order: intervening to protect protesters from ICE agents can quickly become indistinguishable, on the ground, from suppressing the protest itself.

Markwayne Mullin

The DHS Secretary escalated the federal government's rhetoric by threatening to pull Customs and Border Protection agents from Newark Liberty International Airport and redeploy them to Delaney Hall [3]. "We will have to pull out our Customs and Border Patrol officers that process these flights and put them in these facilities to help protect our employees," Mullin said [3]. The threat extended beyond Newark — Mullin named New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle as cities whose airports could be similarly affected, collectively handling nearly 74 million international travelers annually [3].

The Legal Landscape

Multiple legal proceedings are now running in parallel:

Newark v. GEO Group: The city's lawsuit alleging the facility lacks proper permits and occupancy certification is in court-ordered mediation, with a June 15 deadline [7].

Federal suit against sanctuary cities: On May 23, the Trump Justice Department filed suit against Newark and three other New Jersey cities over their sanctuary policies [35].

ACLU challenges: The ACLU of New Jersey has issued statements condemning the state police response and signaling potential legal action over use of force and First Amendment violations [26][27]. No formal lawsuit challenging the curfew has been filed as of June 1, but the organization's track record — including successful challenges to curfews in West New York and West Orange — suggests one may be forthcoming [31].

Detainee habeas petitions: Individual detainees have filed habeas corpus petitions — legal filings asking a court to rule on whether their detention is lawful — though the pace and outcomes of these proceedings have not been widely reported [36].

No timeline for resolution exists for any of these cases. The mediation in Newark v. GEO Group is the nearest deadline, but even that is unlikely to produce a definitive result by mid-June.

The Case For and Against

The Federal Government's Argument

Federal officials maintain that Delaney Hall operates lawfully under congressional appropriations, that detainees receive adequate care, and that the facility serves a necessary function in immigration enforcement [16]. DHS has characterized the protests as driven by "sanctuary politicians" seeking to obstruct federal law and has framed the hunger strike allegations as fabricated [16]. Mullin has argued that protesters are endangering federal employees and interfering with lawful operations [3].

The Protesters' Argument

Advocates counter that detainees are held in conditions that violate due process and basic standards of care, pointing to the open letter signed by nearly 300 detainees, the death of Jean Wilson Brutus, the escape attempt driven by conditions, and the accounts of lawyers who have visited the facility [11][12][15]. They argue that the facility was opened without proper local approval, that GEO Group profits from mass detention, and that many detainees are held for extended periods without hearings [36].

The Curfew Debate

Supporters of the curfew, including Baraka and Sherrill, frame it as necessary to prevent violence and reduce the risk of further confrontation between federal agents and civilians [1][22]. Critics, including the ACLU and protest organizers, argue it effectively silences constitutionally protected dissent and imposes costs on surrounding residents who have nothing to do with the protests [26][27].

What Remains Unknown

Several questions critical to evaluating the competing claims remain unanswered:

• Independent inspection: No independent body has inspected Delaney Hall and published findings. Sherrill was denied access; journalists have been kept out. The DHS "Correct the Record" statement is self-serving by definition, and the detainee accounts, while detailed, come from individuals with an obvious interest in their own release.
• Detainee legal status: The share of detainees awaiting initial hearings versus those under final removal orders has not been publicly disclosed, making it difficult to evaluate claims about "mass arbitrary detention."
• Body camera footage: Neither ICE nor the New Jersey State Police have released body camera footage from the clashes, leaving the public reliant on social media video and journalist accounts to determine what level of force was used and whether it was proportionate.
• Curfew scope: The full terms of the curfew — including any exemptions for residents, workers, and businesses within the half-mile zone — have not been published in detail.

The Delaney Hall crisis is not a single story. It is a collision of federal immigration authority, local resistance, private profit, labor rights inside a detention facility, civil liberties outside it, press freedom, and the politics of a Democratic governor caught between her base and her badge. The curfew may reduce the nightly violence. It will not resolve any of the underlying disputes driving it.