Focal Point: Lives In The Balance
ICE agents ready their batons as federal vehicles exit Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.

N.J. protests meet tear gas as hunger strike ensues

Newark’s Delaney Hall has become another flash point for anti-ICE demonstrations.

Story and Photos by Ike Wood

Published on June 15, 2026 | Reported from Newark, New Jersey

Protesters demonstrate outside Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed immigration detention facility in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026. The privately operated center, run by the GEO Group, has faced congressional scrutiny over allegations that include serving food contaminated with maggots, inadequate medical care and unsanitary conditions. Roughly 300 detainees were observing a hunger strike at the time.

Federal agents deployed tear gas, pepper balls and chemical irritants against demonstrators outside Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark over four days beginning May 26, as roughly 300 detainees inside observed a hunger strike to protest conditions at the privately operated center.

ICE agents observe a protest outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 27, 2026.
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Federal agents guard two driveways leading to the vehicle bay of Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026. Agents created a secondary makeshift entrance on an adjacent dirt hill to manage traffic amid sustained protests at the facility.
GEO Group employees exit Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026. Workers at the facility have been accused of using chemical agents on detainees and failing to provide adequate medical care, with allegations including a miscarriage and widespread infections inside the 1,000-bed facility.
Protesters and federal agents clash over control of the driveways leading into Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 28, 2026.

Police corralled protesters away from facility driveways as demonstrators linked arms to block ICE vehicles from entering and exiting.

A protester chants anti-ICE slogans at federal agents alongside approximately 50 demonstrators outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.
The Rev. Dr. Dorothee Benz protests outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026, as demonstrators line the sidewalk in an effort to impede ICE vehicle traffic at the facility.

At least one protester was pushed beneath a moving tractor-trailer. Others were thrown to the ground and detained. 

On May 29, riot police advanced on the crowd with rifles loaded with live ammunition alongside firearms loaded with pepper-ball rounds. Protesters kicked tear gas canisters back toward police lines.

Protesters link arms in an attempt to block federal vehicles from transferring detainees during a hunger strike at Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.
Federal agents detain a protester after an attempt to block a federal vehicle from exiting Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.
Federal agents force a protester to the ground after the demonstrator attempted to block an ICE vehicle from exiting Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 28, 2026.
Protesters and federal agents face off in the evening light as skirmishes continue outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 27, 2026.
Federal agents detain a protester after demonstrators attempted to block vehicles from leaving Delaney Hall detention center, sparking skirmishes in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.
Federal agents advance on protesters while deploying chemical irritants outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.
Protesters use hair dryers in an attempt to disperse chemical irritants deployed by federal agents outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.

Congressional investigators have raised allegations that the GEO Group-operated facility served food contaminated with maggots, denied adequate medical care and forced detainees to clean unsanitary conditions with their clothing. A protest leader said one released detainee reported losing 11 pounds and experiencing persistent illness during his detention.

Outside the facility on May 28, Gabriela Soto sobbed as she described what her husband was enduring inside.

Clergy members struggle to hold back tears as Gabriela Soto, the pregnant wife of a Delaney Hall detainee, describes conditions inside the facility outside the Newark, N.J., detention center on May 28, 2026. "They are going cell to cell and gassing them. They beat them and took their translator. My husband is suffering inside, they are hitting my husband," Soto said.

“They are going cell to cell and gassing them,” Soto, who is pregnant, told a crowd of clergy members. “They beat them and took their translator. My husband is suffering inside, they are hitting my husband.”

ICE agents advance on a crowd while deploying mace to clear a path for vehicles exiting Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.
A supporter of ICE confronts anti-ICE protesters as federal agents watch outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026. The pro-ICE demonstrator spat on a protester — an act that constitutes simple assault under New Jersey law — but federal agents present did not intervene.
A man is reunited with family after being released from Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 27, 2026. A protest marshal said the man reported losing 11 pounds and experiencing persistent illness during his detention. The facility was repurposed in 2025 as an immigration processing center after closing in 2023.
Enforcement and Removal Operations agents pursue a protester along railroad tracks following a confrontation outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026.
Confrontations between federal agents and protesters intensified outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 27, 2026, after a protester was pushed beneath a moving tractor-trailer, leading to additional detentions.
Protesters sing outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 28, 2026, urging ICE agents to reconsider their actions at the facility.
A family waits for the release of a detained relative from Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 28, 2026.
Federal agents armed with rifles loaded with live ammunition and firearms loaded with pepper-ball rounds stand guard outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
Rae Guthrie, left, and Cassie Montelongo sit in front of a driveway at Delaney Hall detention center to protest what demonstrators describe as inhumane treatment of detainees in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
A protester holds a sign and a rose outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.

Through it all, a detainee pressed a paper heart to a window and chanted with the crowd outside.

“Sí se puede,” they called out together. Yes, we can.

Riot police advance as protesters kick tear gas canisters back toward the police line outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
A protester wearing a military-grade gas mask stands at the entrance to Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
Minister Archange Antoine rinses their eyes after being struck by pepper spray during a police riot outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
Mounted police push protesters away from Delaney Hall detention center, clearing a path for ICE vehicles to leave the facility without obstruction in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
Riot police advance as protesters kick tear gas canisters back toward the police line outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
Protesters push back against incoming federal vehicles attempting to enter Delaney Hall immigration processing facility during a lull in the police riot in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
An ICE vehicle is covered in debris during a police riot outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 29, 2026.
A detainee attaches a paper heart to a window and joins in chants of "Sí se puede" with protesters gathered outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 28, 2026.

Delaney Hall was repurposed as an immigration processing center in 2025 after closing in 2023, a transformation that reflects the rapid expansion of immigration detention infrastructure under the Trump administration. The facility, designed to hold detainees for only a few days, has instead housed immigrants for months at a time.

Federal lawmakers have opened investigations into the facility’s conditions, but as of late May, detainees remained inside and the protests showed no sign of stopping.

A protester creates chalk art on the driveway outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 27, 2026.

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