After days of chaos, NJ moves to separate protesters and ICE agents at Delaney Hall

⚠️ NJ State Police will oversee a protected protest zone outside Delaney Hall.

➡️ Gov. Mikie Sherrill said the goal is to lower tensions and avoid further escalation.

🔴 Protesters and ICE have clashed for days outside the Newark detention center.

NEWARK — State Police are stepping in to keep things peaceful outside Delaney Hall, where protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been grappling for days along a busy, truck-filled roadway.

Gov. Mike Sherrill announced the updated approach on Friday afternoon, flanked by the state attorney general and State Police leaders

UPDATE: Gov. Sherill's plan to calm tensions falls apart within hours

NJ State Police to oversee protected protest area outside Delaney Hall

"I will not give ICE the pretext to expand operations in our state. For that reason, New Jersey law enforcement is today establishing a peaceful, protected protest zone in the area outside Delaney Hall," Sherrill said.

"My administration will be working together with community members, faith leaders, advocates, and state police to help people move there today. Our top priority is public safety – and we need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature now."

Days of clashes between protesters and ICE agents prompted response

Since Memorial Day weekend, interactions outside the privately owned and operated facility have been tense at times, with protesters blockading driveways and ICE agents using pepper spray as part of their response.

Inside Delaney Hall, detainees have reportedly been on a hunger strike, protesting conditions that they say include horrid food quality, a lack of medical care and a lack of due process.

Read More: Protest chaos erupts outside Newark's Delaney Hall

The holiday confrontation outside Delaney Hall — the place where the city's mayor and congresswoman were arrested last year — became the latest New Jersey flashpoint in the national battle over immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.

What started as local outrage over conditions inside the Newark detention center has drawn in more members of Congress, the governor, federal immigration officials and activists on both sides of the debate.

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