NEWARK, N.J. — Chaotic scenes intensified Thursday outside Delaney Hall, a federal immigration detention center as anti-ICE agitators clashed with federal agents amid escalating tensions over immigration enforcement and conditions inside.
The protest crowd had swelled to more than 100 by 8 p.m. local time, as frequent clashes cropped up when unmarked federal vehicles approached to enter the center.
As ICE agents appeared to swing on a fulcrum, some agitators refused to get out of the way — including one man who was dragged to the ground and detained just feet from where Fox News Digital was perched.
An ICE agent could not confirm or deny whether detaining the civilian suspect portended potential criminal charges.
The clashes at the privately operated detention center — which activists believe houses roughly 900 detainees — come after days of mounting protests, political backlash and confrontations between demonstrators and federal authorities.
New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim, have criticized conditions at Delaney Hall, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused lawmakers and activists of fueling unrest and undermining ICE enforcement operations.
Thursday evening, protesters blocked roads surrounding the facility as federal agents moved in and out of the area.
At one point, an unmarked federal vehicle drove through the crowd, prompting a female agitator to accuse ICE agents of attempting to hit women demonstrators.
One man was seen being detained during the chaos. When asked whether the detention would result in criminal charges, one ICE agent replied that he “can’t confirm,” though he said it politely, according to reports.
PROTESTERS CLASH WITH ICE AS NJ DETENTION FACILITY DEMONSTRATIONS CONTINUE
During another scuffle Thursday, an agitator who encroached was tossed to the ground by his shirt and another was pushed up against a truck that had gotten stuck in the melee.
Four letter words abounded for a time and even a child and his father were shouting obscenities from a car parked across outside the facility.
Police presence was again sparse, in line with Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s prior position against assisting immigration enforcement.
Instead, an elderly agitator with a sign scrawled on the back of a CostCo box repeatedly admonished drivers for not sufficiently slowing down as they tried to pass the throng.
Earlier this week, Sherrill and several members of Congress tried to enter the facility after reports that some detainees had begun a hunger strike.
Sherrill was denied access and has since called for the detention center to be shut down.
On Monday, agitators had blocked entrances by linking arms, sitting in roadways and forming a human chain to prevent ICE from entering or leaving the building.
The clashes also intensified after Kim was allegedly struck by pepper-ball spray during an earlier protest.
According to The Associated Press, the DHS said approximately six demonstrators were arrested Wednesday.
DHS said those arrests stemmed from allegations that protesters assaulted law enforcement officers.
The unrest also came as Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday unveiled new statewide guidance outlining how schools, child care providers, colleges, healthcare facilities and places of worship should respond to interactions with federal immigration authorities.
Speaking at a State House press conference in Boston, she said the guidance was to help organizations in the state protect access to services, understand their legal rights and prepare staff in the event U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrive onsite.
“We will not allow violent rioters to slow ICE down. Law and order will be restored. There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time,” DHS said in a statement.
