New Jersey – Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka ordered a mandatory nighttime curfew around Delaney Hall after rallies tied to an ICE detention hunger and labor strike continued for days. Gov. Mikie Sherrill said protesters took “aggressive and dangerous actions,” while federal an
At midnight on Sunday, New Jersey officials moved to stop the unrest outside Delaney Hall in Newark—not by meeting the people staging the protest, but by shutting down the streets around the ICE detention center.
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka declared an “increasing need for police intervention” and ordered a mandatory curfew within a half-mile radius of Delaney Hall. The curfew runs from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., “until further notice,” with vehicular traffic restricted in the area. The order warns that violators are “subject to enforcement actions.”.
The decision landed as rallies and walkouts continued at the facility tied to what Baraka and state officials frame as a public safety problem—and what detainees and protesters describe as an urgent fight inside. The curfew comes on the 10th day of a hunger and labor strike initiated by roughly 300 people held at Delaney Hall.
The strikers have made four demands: an immediate in-person meeting with Gov. Mikie Sherrill; the immediate release of all detainees. including the elderly. pregnant women. and people with serious medical conditions; a meaningful review of their immigration cases; and an end to pressure from ICE agents to self-deport.
Sherrill has not met with the strikers. Federal officials have also denied her entry to Delaney Hall. saying she does not have the same oversight authority as federal lawmakers who have visited the facility. including Sen. Andy Kim and Rep. Rob Menendez. Sherrill. barred from entering. has instead worked with the Department of Homeland Security by deploying state police on Friday night to help “secure the area.”.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin posted on X on Saturday morning: “Thank you @GovSherrillNJ for cooperating with us to help restore law and order.” He added, “We hope to build on this partnership and work together to remove the worst of the worst from New Jersey communities.”
Sherrill’s public posture has hardened in parallel. Later on Sunday morning. she issued a statement on X saying a group of protesters “began aggressive and dangerous actions against Newark and New Jersey State Police.” She argued those actions “detract from New Jersey’s dedication to ensuring public safety. keeping people safe from ICE. ” and that the people detained inside Delaney Hall are treated with dignity.
But the conflict over who is endangering whom has been central to the standoff. The curfew and police deployment come after the federal government dismissed New Jersey officials who showed up at Delaney Hall on Memorial Day weekend as a “political stunt.” DHS has also continued to insist “there is NO hunger strike.”.
The dispute has been amplified by testimony from protesters and reporting that points in a different direction. As journalist Amanda Moore reported in a Mother Jones video posted on Friday. ICE has been cracking down violently on protesters. using chemical suppressants. tasers. and “nonlethal” rounds.
That leaves the political argument with a sharp human edge: the state says the danger is coming from protesters and that public safety requires a stronger police presence. while detainees and their supporters say the pressure is coming from ICE—and that the response from New Jersey officials has been to escalate rather than engage.
By all appearances, it is not the detainees and protesters who are, in Sherrill’s account, endangering public safety and detracting from the goal of treating people in custody with dignity—but rather the New Jersey officials themselves.
Still, the streets around Delaney Hall have been put under a clock. Starting at 9 p.m. and continuing until 6 a.m. New Jersey’s mandatory curfew has now become the clearest sign of how officials intend to manage a protest that has lasted long enough to force leadership decisions—without offering the meeting the strikers are demanding.
New Jersey politics Newark mayor curfew Delaney Hall ICE hunger strike Mikie Sherrill Ras J. Baraka Markwayne Mullin Andy Kim Rob Menendez DHS
Curfew is gonna make everyone even more mad…
So they shut down streets around an ICE detention place and call it public safety. But what about the detainees? Sounds like everyone’s just avoiding the meeting like normal politics.
Wait I thought ICE was federal, not like Newark can just do curfews wherever. Doesn’t this basically prove they can’t control the situation so they just restrict everyone at night? Also “aggressive and dangerous actions” could mean anything, like walking too loud.
This is wild. Hunger strike for 10 days and nobody will meet them, then they put a 9pm-6am curfew like that fixes it. If they’re trying to stop unrest, why not let the governor talk to people instead of police intervention? I keep seeing mixed stuff online too like DHS denied entry or something, so I’m confused who’s even in charge.