Visitation to resume at Delaney Hall after protests and clashes

Family visitation was set to resume at Delaney Hall on Sunday, a small but significant reversal after days of protests, arrests and competing claims over who controlled conditions inside the Newark immigration detention center.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the Department of Homeland Security agreed to restore visitation after demonstrations outside the privately run facility intensified and law enforcement moved to clear blockages. DHS had suspended visits “out of an abundance of caution” after protesters blocked entrances, clashed with agents and interfered with a detainee transfer.

The fight outside the center began Friday, May 23, after detainees launched a hunger and labor strike over conditions inside the facility. Advocates said detainees lost access to video calls and commissary services while visitation remained suspended, deepening isolation for people held inside the 1,000-bed center. They also raised concerns about poor food, inadequate medical care, and especially the treatment of pregnant detainees and people with serious medical needs.

DHS denied allegations of unsafe conditions and disputed the accounts from protesters and advocates. Federal officials confirmed two arrests during clashes on Tuesday night, while NBC New York reported six protesters were arrested after a confrontation with ICE officers. DHS said about 125 “agitators” surrounded the facility on May 24, formed a human chain and blocked entries and exits, and that about 70 were dispersed as an obstructing vehicle transfer was completed.

Sherrill said state health officials were denied full access to inspect the site, adding another layer to the dispute over transparency inside a system that has faced repeated criticism over private detention contracts and oversight. The GEO Group, which operates Delaney Hall, said a “physical altercation” involving detainees prompted staff to use “limited” chemical agents, and said the people affected were cleared with no serious injuries.

The unrest has also turned Delaney Hall into a broader political flashpoint. ICE announced in February 2025 that it would reopen the Newark facility under a 15-year contract with The GEO Group worth about $1 billion. The site had been vacant since December 2023 before reopening. Critics, including the ACLU of New Jersey and Make the Road New Jersey, have pressed for more scrutiny of detention conditions, while DHS and the GEO Group have rejected those criticisms.

As tensions continued outside the center, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed an emergency curfew around Delaney Hall from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice. The return of family visits may ease one immediate pressure point, but it will not settle the larger dispute over whether the facility can be meaningfully watched from the outside while people inside remain largely out of public view.