Newark mayor enacts curfew around Delaney Hall after clashes between protesters and police

Newark officials instituted a mandatory curfew Sunday around the Delaney Hall immigration detention center after ongoing protests led to clashes between protesters and police officers late Saturday.

In a statement, Mayor Ras Baraka said multiple people, some of whom were armed, were taken into custody after the skirmish Saturday.

Protests have roiled Delaney Hall over conditions inside the facility since last week. The curfew comes after continued clashes between police and protesters outside the jail, including a Friday night confrontation that led police to temporarily clear the area outside the detention center.

Baraka’s curfew, which began Sunday at midnight, will be enforced between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in all areas within a half-mile of Delaney Hall.

Doremus Avenue will be closed to all pedestrians, and only vehicles with “verified official business” will be allowed in the area.

Tensions came to a head Saturday evening as the protesters clashed with counter-protesters from the Proud Boys extremist group, as well as New Jersey State Police troopers called to the scene.

During the scuffle, masked people pushed into an area reserved for law enforcement, according to Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

The group attacked barriers surrounding the facility, threw projectiles, and lit tires on fire in the street, she said in a Sunday statement.

Officers at the scene were not wearing protective gear and were there “ensuring protesters and counter protesters had areas to exercise their rights safely,” Sherrill said. Additional officers had to be called to the scene as the situation escalated.

“I do not know why these individuals attacked or what they wanted to accomplish, but I refuse to let these dangerous actions detract from New Jersey’s dedication to ensuring public safety, keeping people safe from ICE, and that the people detained inside Delaney Hall are treated with dignity,” Sherrill said, urging folks to focus on advocating for better conditions for the people in Delaney Hall.

Sherrill will provide an update on Delaney Hall at an 11:30 a.m. Sunday press briefing, according to her public schedule.

While enforcing the curfew, Newark Police will issue a warning to people to leave the area, according to Baraka. Those who remain in the area in violation of the curfew will be removed, given summonses, and may face other legal actions.

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said her office plans to protect the right to peaceful protest, but denounces any violence committed by protesters.

“We will continue our efforts to work with Governor Sherrill and the Administration to ensure that detainees at Delaney Hall are treated with humanity and decency,” Davenport said.

New Jersey U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, who was pepper-sprayed by federal agents when he visited Delaney Hall last week, said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union that he was “hugely concerned” about the situation.

“I am so worried about my state,” Kim said. “I’ve not seen my state with this level of precariousness through my entire time in elected office, so I’m worried about what comes next.”

He said he understood why people were angry and frustrated “feeling like they’re seeing and hearing about things happening on our soil with our taxpayer dollars that is not in, not in line with our values as a nation.”

Kim said his visits to the detention center were intended to “make sure that there is a level of dignity and decency in this country, and that we can try to make sure that that people can get the care that they need, and we can have accountability for what is happening in our name.”

Delaney Hall is operated by The GEO Group, a Florida-based private-prison firm that contracts with the federal government to run inmate detention facilities around the country.

In Pennsylvania, GEO had a presence locally for decades: The company ran Delaware County’s George W. Hill’s Correctional Facility from its construction in 1998 until 2022, after the county council voted to terminate its contract and took over operations.

At the time, it was the only privately run county jail in Pennsylvania, and was mired in controversies surrounding inmate deaths, attacks on guards, and alleged mistreatment by supervisors.

The jail’s longtime warden, John Reilly Jr., resigned in 2019 after an Inquirer investigation revealed allegations of repeated racist and abusive behavior from his subordinates and colleagues. Reilly denied doing so in his resignation, and disputed The Inquirer’s reporting.

This is a developing story that will be updated.