On Saturday night (May 30), a mandatory curfew up to a half-mile around the federal detention center outside of Newark, New Jersey known as Delaney Hall was enacted by the city’s mayor, Ras Baraka. It was in response to heightened conflict between federal law enforcement and protesters outside the facilty.
Newark Police Department officers and Essex County Sheriff’s deputies began to clear protesters away from Delaney Hall, with most leaving by midnight. In a statement, the mayor’s office stated that the curfew “will remain in effect nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. until further notice,” with vehicle access allowed only for those on official business.
Protesters have gathered outside Delaney Hall in increasing numbers within the past few weeks after detainees began a hunger strike over living conditions and mistreatment by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel.
Late Saturday night marked a flashpoint as a few protesters turned over barricades outside of Delaney Hall and threw projectiles while scuffling with law enforcement, resulting in at least six arrests. Officers were seen, in turn, tackling protesters and spraying them with chemical irritants and in one case beating a fleeing protester with batons.
Governor Mikie Sherrill addressed the situation and curfew in a press conference on Sunday (May 31), pleading for calm. “It has grown unsafe, and that’s completely unacceptable,” the Democratic governor said. “We need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature,” adding that “I refuse to give ICE an excuse to surge into our communities,” singling out those arrested and stating that they were distracting from the goal of gaining better conditions for those in Delaney Hall.
Mayor Baraka also defended his decision to install the curfew in a statement, saying that criticisms have “mischaracterized” the intent behind the move. “In Newark, it will always be our job to restore order, disrupt violence, and protect the people of our city and we must do so whether we agree with their actions or not,” he said.
Baraka has been one of the Democrat lawmakers who previously was targeted by the Department of Homeland Security after seeking to visit Delaney Hall, resulting in being charged with trespassing last year. Those charges would
be thrown out by a judge last May.
