Dueling protests face off at New Jersey ICE detention center over detainee conditions

Supporters of immigrant detainees gathered outside Delaney Hall in Newark opposite pro-ICE demonstrators as the governor sought to avoid escalation.

May 30, 2026, 12:19 PM MST / Updated May 30, 2026, 3:38 PM MST

By Daniella Silva

Tensions rose at a Newark, New Jersey, immigration detention center on Saturday as a group of pro-ICE protesters faced off with demonstrators who have maintained a presence outside the facility for more than a week in support of detainees who they say are enduring inhumane conditions inside.

Shouting matches between protesters

The atmosphere on Saturday was tense but peaceful. Police set up fencing to establish protest areas and separate the groups. Later, police officers blocking the entrance to the facility were seen without riot gear.

Protesters rallying in support of immigrants inside the facility banged on drums and chanted, “Shut down Delaney Hall, free them all!” and “Shut this racist system down!”

Some held signs saying “ICE OUT NOW,” and a group of healthcare workers held signs reading “Doctor against deportations” and “Health care worker against deportations.”

Many of the demonstrators have said they were protesting what they described as unsafe and inhumane conditions inside Delaney Hall.

“I’m against these people being detained unlawfully, some of them have never had any convictions, and they’re just in there,” protester Dana, who declined to share her last name, told NBC News on Saturday afternoon. “It’s not okay to treat human beings this way. I don’t care how you feel about immigration, we’re all human beings.”

Jacqueline Calderone said she knew people who were recently detained by ICE.

“These people don’t come here to commit crimes, they come here for a better life for them, their loved ones,” she said. “They deserve rights. They deserve a fair process, due process.”

Ashley Kussman said she was protesting for the detainees who were being held “in cruel conditions and who are being abused by our government and by a private corporation acting for our government,” referring to DHS and GEO Group, the private company that runs the facility.

“I am very worried for the state of our country,” she told The Associated Press. “I support the Constitution. I support democracy and I support the freedom to speak, the freedom to gather, the freedom to live without having to worry that you’re going to get kidnapped off the street by somebody in a mask and a uniform.”

Separated by fencing, the group of pro-ICE protesters held American flags and chanted, “USA, USA.”