Newark Protest Melee Erupts at ICE Center After Police Pull Back, 1 Protester Arrested
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 6
Newark Protest Melee Erupts at ICE Center After Police Pull Back, 1 Protester Arrested
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 6
Summary
Dozens of protesters and Geo Group employees fought outside Newark’s Delaney Hall ICE detention center around 5:30 p.m., with people punching, tackling and pepper-spraying one another in broad daylight.
No Newark police or New Jersey state troopers were present during the clash, which came a day after Mayor Ras Baraka said the city would scale back its police presence at the facility.
Minutes after the fight ended, Newark officers arrived and arrested Zion Napier, 28, of Seattle; police said he was seen smashing car windows and charged him with three counts of criminal mischief.
ICE officers separately took another male protester into custody and brought him into Delaney Hall, underscoring how tensions at the detention center are spilling beyond earlier nighttime confrontations.
After a violent clash with no police present, what happens next at the Newark detention center?
With police withdrawn from private detention centers, who is truly in charge of public safety?
Are billion-dollar private detention contracts fueling a human rights crisis behind closed doors?
Crisis at Delaney Hall: 2026 Hunger Strikes, Protests, and the Fight for Transparency in New Jersey’s Immigration Detention
Overview
Protests at Delaney Hall, a large detention center run by GEO Group, had been ongoing for over a year, but tensions rose sharply after detainees began a hunger strike and work stoppage on May 22. This action followed months of complaints about poor conditions from detainees, their families, and local officials. As protesters gathered outside to support detainees, violence escalated when ICE agents appeared at the facility. These events highlight how long-standing concerns about living conditions led to a dramatic shift in protest dynamics and increased confrontations at Delaney Hall.