They shot me in the leg. They shot me again on the chest right here.
Outside a detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, the ancient tension between state authority and civic conscience played out once more on a Sunday night — riot gear, tear gas, and the sound of hooves against pavement marking the latest chapter in a weeks-long confrontation over immigration detention. At the center of it all is Delaney Hall, where the question of what it means to hold human beings in custody — and under what conditions — has spilled beyond its walls and into the streets. Governments and advocates speak in irreconcilable languages, each claiming to protect the vulnerable, while the people caught between them bear the bruises.
- Thirteen minutes after a 9 p.m. curfew expired, mounted police moved in from multiple directions, surrounding protesters and forcing at least one arrest outside the half-mile restricted zone.
- Demonstrators returned despite injuries from the night before — one man showed reporters rubber-bullet welts on his body even as police denied using them, a collision of official denial and visible evidence.
- Inside Delaney Hall, detainees were reported to be on a hunger strike over living conditions, while DHS insisted they were well-fed and cared for — two completely incompatible accounts of the same place.
- Congressional leaders who toured the facility called the conditions conscience-shocking; DHS fired back, blaming 'sanctuary politicians' for inciting the unrest with what it called deliberate falsehoods.
- Governor Sherrill secured a partial concession — family visitation, suspended during the unrest, was set to resume — but warned outside protesters they were undermining the very cause they claimed to support.
- With the curfew open-ended and both sides hardened in their positions, the standoff showed no clear path toward resolution — only the certainty that another night was coming.
Sunday night in Newark, state police in riot gear moved on protesters gathered outside Delaney Hall, the ICE detention facility that has become the focal point of weeks of unrest. Thirteen minutes after a 9 p.m. curfew imposed by Mayor Ras Baraka took effect, officers on horseback closed in from multiple directions. At least one person was arrested. The curfew — active nightly until 6 a.m. with no end date — had done little to keep people away.
Among those who returned despite the danger was Ian Austen, who showed reporters the marks left on his body from the previous night: a large bruise on his thigh, welts across his chest from rubber bullets. Police denied using them. His injuries suggested otherwise. "I'm standing up there putting my hands up, expressing my First Amendment rights," he said.
Earlier that day, Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that DHS had agreed to restore family visitation at the facility after it had been suspended amid the unrest. Limited visits were to begin at noon, with regular hours resuming Monday. But Sherrill was pointed in her message to protesters: those coming from out of state were not helping detainees or their families, she said, and the violent clashes were pulling attention away from the people inside. She called for peaceful demonstrations only.
What was actually happening inside Delaney Hall remained bitterly disputed. Immigration advocates said detainees had been on a hunger strike for over a week due to poor conditions. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, following an oversight visit with roughly two dozen detainees, said the conditions "shock the conscience." DHS denied everything — no hunger strike, adequate meals, full medical care — and accused what it called "sanctuary politicians" of spreading false smears that were fueling the riots outside.
With each side accusing the other of distortion, the curfew still in place, and no resolution in sight, the only certainty was that another night was coming.
Sunday night in Newark, the streets around Delaney Hall filled with the sound of horses and the smell of tear gas. State police in riot gear moved toward a crowd of protesters who had gathered outside the half-mile curfew zone that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka had imposed at 9 p.m. Thirteen minutes after the deadline passed, officers on horseback came in from multiple directions, surrounding the demonstrators and forcing them into a standoff. At least one person was arrested.
The curfew had been put in place to contain weeks of unrest at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, where people have been protesting for more than a week over conditions inside. The restriction would remain in effect each night until 6 a.m., with no end date specified. But the presence of police in riot gear and the deployment of tear gas suggested that the curfew alone would not be enough to stop people from showing up.
Ian Austen returned to protest Sunday despite injuries sustained the night before. He showed reporters the marks on his body—a large bruise on his thigh, welts on his chest—and explained that police had fired rubber bullets at him, including one that struck him through his pants. "I'm standing up there, you know, like putting my hands up, expressing my First Amendment rights," he said. The police had denied using rubber bullets, but the evidence on his skin told a different story.
Earlier that same Sunday, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that the Department of Homeland Security had agreed to restore family visitation at Delaney Hall after it had been suspended. Limited visits were to begin at noon, with regular hours resuming Monday. Law enforcement would escort families into the facility, Sherrill wrote on social media, and she called on "outside actors" to allow this to happen safely. The announcement came hours after a second night of clashes in which state police had fired multiple rounds of tear gas into the crowd.
Sherrill's position was clear: the violence was counterproductive. "Violent, chaotic clashes hurt everyone," she said at a news conference. "They put the lives of both protesters and law enforcement in danger. They take the focus away from people inside Delaney Hall and their families." She singled out people coming from out of state, saying they were not helping detainees or their families, and were not keeping New Jersey safe. She urged them to stay home and called for peaceful demonstrations only.
But the question of what was actually happening inside the facility remained contested. Immigration advocates said detainees had been on a hunger strike for more than a week because of poor living conditions. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and three New Jersey representatives conducted an oversight visit Sunday and spoke with approximately two dozen detainees. Jeffries released a statement saying the conditions "shock the conscience" and that immigration enforcement under the Trump administration was "doing the exact opposite" of what should be fair, just, and humane.
The Department of Homeland Security denied all of this. A DHS spokesperson said detainees were receiving three meals a day and comprehensive medical care, and flatly denied that any hunger strike was occurring. The agency blamed what it called "sanctuary politicians" for spreading "categorically false smears" about the facility—smears that DHS said were inciting the violent riots outside. The dispute over what was happening inside the walls of Delaney Hall had become inseparable from the conflict on the streets outside, with each side accusing the other of distortion and bad faith. Meanwhile, the curfew remained in place, and the next night was coming.
Citas Notables
Violent, chaotic clashes hurt everyone. They put the lives of both protesters and law enforcement in danger. They take the focus away from people inside Delaney Hall and their families.— Governor Mikie Sherrill
The conditions of confinement we witnessed firsthand and discussed with approximately two dozen detainees at the Delaney Hall detention center shock the conscience.— House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did the governor call out people coming from out of state specifically? What was she trying to accomplish?
She was trying to separate the legitimate concern about conditions inside the facility from what she saw as outside agitation that was making things worse. If you're a politician trying to manage a crisis, you want to isolate the most disruptive element and delegitimize it. By saying "you're not helping," she was trying to convince local protesters to distance themselves from outsiders.
But did it work? Did the curfew actually stop people from coming back?
The article shows people came back the very next night despite the curfew. So no, it didn't work. A curfew is a blunt instrument—it can disperse a crowd in the moment, but it doesn't address why people are there in the first place.
What's the real disagreement here? Is it about what's happening inside, or about how to protest it?
Both. DHS says conditions are fine and people are being fed. Advocates say there's a hunger strike and poor conditions. Those are factual claims that contradict each other. But even if you believed DHS, you'd still have to explain why people keep coming back despite riot police and tear gas. That suggests they believe something is genuinely wrong.
The governor said the violence was hurting the detainees' cause. Do you think she was right?
She was right that it shifted the conversation away from conditions inside the facility and toward police tactics. But she was also asking protesters to be peaceful while the state was using tear gas and rubber bullets. That's an asymmetrical ask. It's easier to tell people not to fight back than to tell police not to escalate.