Newark’s mayor has imposed an overnight curfew around an immigration detention center following a series of intense clashes between protestors and police.
Mayor Ras Baraka announced the curfew for the area surrounding Delaney Hall, which will be in effect from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily until further notice.
This decision comes after another night of standoffs at the facility, where photographs and videos showed demonstrators fighting over barricades as officers used riot shields to push them back.
Footage shared on social media also depicted police on horseback marching into crowds in an attempt to disperse groups of protestors.
The high-profile demonstrations at Delaney Hall began earlier this month after advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility, the latest hotbed of opposition over the federal government’s immigration crackdown.
Federal and New Jersey officials have been clashing over the conditions at the facility. New Jersey authorities contend that detainees are subjected to poor conditions and lack sufficient medical access. Conversely, Marwayne Mullin, Trump’s new DHS secretary, and other administration officials refute these allegations, maintaining that the facility houses violent criminals.
New Jersey state police on Friday relieved federal immigration enforcement agents who had been facing off against protestors at the facility for days.
In a statement Sunday morning, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said masked individuals attacked a barrier in a designated protest area set up by state police and were “throwing projectiles, utilizing the barriers as weapons, and lighting tires on fire in the street.”
“These actions put both peaceful protestors and law enforcement in danger,” Sherrill said, urging calm to focus on advocating for “better conditions for the detainees, for their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall.”
Sherrill also said that the federal government has reopened family visits at Delaney Hall starting Sunday.
