New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Saturday that people are coming from out of state to protest at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark and creating a dangerous situation.
“We know that people from outside of the state have been interfering in the protests and escalating them,” Sherrill said at a press conference. “Five of the six people arrested last night by state police were from outside New Jersey.”
Masked individuals attacked the barrier in the protest area and took “aggressive and dangerous actions” against the Newark police and state police, Sherrill said in a post on X on Sunday.
The protesters threw projectiles at police and used the barriers as weapons and lit tires on fire in the streets, the governor said.
Sherrill said that “some national extremist groups” have become involved in the protests.
“To the people coming from out of the state to create chaos and dangerous situations, you should not be here,” Sherrill said. “You are not helping the people detained at Delaney Hall. You are not helping detainee families. And you are certainly not keeping New Jersey safe.”
Sherrill ordered the New Jersey state police to restore order outside the ICE facility.
“ICE engagement creates an incredibly dangerous situation,” Sherrill said. “It makes the situation worse, and I refuse to back down in fighting the Trump administration and the threats they’ve made.”
Mullin said May 29 that New Jersey’s local law enforcement did not respond to calls for aid at the Delaney detention facility.
He said if things did not change, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at airports would be moved to ICE facilities. Mullin said flights that can’t be processed by customs officers would not be permitted into the country.
Sherrill has said on X that the for-profit company running Delaney Hall has provided no transparency, and she is working to have it closed.
Democrats have made claims about detainee treatment at Delaney Hall that have been disputed by the federal government.
"We have seen first-hand what’s happening inside Delaney Hall: law-abiding immigrants, including mothers and fathers of U.S. citizens, pastors, and pregnant women, being denied health care, food, and due process. This is an absolute abomination,” a statement attributed to eight U.S. Democratic Representatives said.
Mullin said the detention facility in New Jersey is holding murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and “serious criminals.”
“This isn’t a Holiday Inn,” Mullin said last week. “We’re not providing luxury housing. We are providing a sanitary place for them to be detained.”