DHS threatens Newark flight processing after Delaney Hall clashes

DHS threatens – Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said DHS may have to pull resources from Newark Liberty International Airport to protect officials at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in New Jersey. The warning comes as protests intensify outside the privat

For the third day, demonstrators kept pressing outside Delaney Hall, and federal officers kept standing their ground. On May 28, the showdown moved from the sidewalk to the runway.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the Department of Homeland Security would have to shift resources and personnel from Newark Liberty International Airport to protect officials at Delaney Hall as demonstrations escalate outside the privately run Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Speaking on FOX & Friends. Mullin warned that if officials aren’t processing international arrivals at Newark. certain people arriving with airlines would not be permitted into the United States.

“If they’re not there processing international flights, then those individuals when airlines land can’t, well, they won’t be permitted into the United States,” Mullin said. He later added, “I’m not going to put my employees and my ICE agents at risk.”

The threat escalates a dispute over immigration enforcement that has pitted the Trump administration against Democrats in New Jersey, where the political fight has been playing out at the gates of the detention center for more than a year.

Sen. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, described the latest pressure in the feud as a personal confrontation with federal officers. Three days before Mullin’s warning. Kim said he was hit with pepper spray by federal officers outside Delaney Hall. which is run by the GEO Group under a federal contract. Kim’s account came as protests continue over allegations of mistreatment of detainees.

The facility has faced long-running concerns about how people held in custody are treated. On May 22, detainees launched a hunger strike over conditions including food shortages and lack of medical care. Since then, the standoffs around the center have grown more tense.

The geometry of the confrontation is what makes Mullin’s airport threat land so sharply: officials say they may need to redirect staff away from a major international gateway because the demonstrations outside the detention site are intensifying. Newark Liberty International Airport. which serves the nation’s most populous metropolitan region. is managed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. a joint agency run by both states and federally authorized. Newark’s role as a connecting airport. along with the summer surge in travel to New York City. means any shift in operations would ripple well beyond the detention center itself.

It’s not clear when or how DHS. which includes Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration. would reduce its role inside Newark’s airport. DHS referred to previous comments when asked. saying it was “drawing up plans” to cut processing of international flights in sanctuary cities. The Port Authority did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Mullin’s comments follow a pattern he has described before. warning that DHS could cut airport processing in so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. where local and state governments limit cooperation with federal immigration officials. Newark’s airport operations are tied to the Port Authority. but the decision that would move resources—DHS staff and personnel—would sit inside federal control.

The political pressure around Delaney Hall isn’t new. In 2025, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was temporarily arrested, and Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-New Jersey, was later criminally charged for her role in the same protest. McIver has pleaded not guilty and appealed her case to be dismissed.

The latest battle has also carried a public-health and oversight fight. On May 28, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill. a fellow Democrat. said state health officials attempted to inspect Delaney Hall but were only allowed to see part of the facility. Sherrill said health officials plan to release findings on what they could inspect while they “continue to pursue all appropriate avenues for demanding transparency and ensuring humane conditions for the individuals being held at the facility. ” adding that the governor reiterated calls to close Delaney Hall.

Kim’s own message has focused on what he says is happening to people inside and outside the facility. In a May 27 social media post. Kim said he wasn’t complaining about getting hit by pepper spray on May 26. which was captured in footage showing chaotic clashes. Instead. Kim said he was decrying how his constituents—including Americans and immigrant detainees—have been treated inside and outside of Delaney Hall.

Kim visited the facility with Gov. Sherrill on May 28.

Mullin’s warning arrives just over two weeks before the first FIFA World Cup match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The stadium is hosting several tournament games as well as the World Cup final on July 19. Beyond the tournament. tourism in New York City typically strengthens in summer months. and Newark functions as a key arrival and connection point for travelers heading to other parts of the United States.

For now. DHS has put a possible operational shift on the table—tied directly to staff safety and the course of protests outside a detention center. On the ground. the demonstrations have continued. with hunger strike concerns and claims of mistreatment still driving calls to close Delaney Hall. In Washington and on the busiest travel routes in the region. Mullin’s threat has turned that street-level pressure into a question about who gets processed when planes land.

DHS Markwayne Mullin Newark Liberty International Airport Delaney Hall ICE GEO Group Customs and Border Protection Transportation Security Administration FIFA World Cup MetLife Stadium Andy Kim Mikie Sherrill sanctuary cities Port Authority of New York and New Jersey immigration enforcement hunger strike