NJ governor sends state police to set up protest zone outside contested immigration detention center

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is sending state police to bring order to an immigration detention center in Newark that has been the site of violent demonstrations and arrests in recent days.

The Democrat announced Friday that police will create designated protest zones and set up vehicle checkpoints to regulate traffic outside Delaney Hall. She said the decision comes as clashes between protesters and federal immigration enforcement officials have intensified.

“It has grown unsafe, and that’s completely unacceptable,” Sherrill said at a news conference along with the state attorney general and state police leaders. “Our top priority is public safety, and we need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature.”

Spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the GEO Group, the private firm contracted to run the facility, didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The protests began last Friday after immigrant advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility, which opened last May.

Demonstrators have been attempting to block people and vehicles from entering and exiting the building in recent days. They have linked arms in a human chain and used trash cans, umbrellas and other materials as makeshift shields and barricades.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in helmets and tactical vests have used pepper spray and batons to try and disperse the protesters and clear the roadway for vehicles.

At least six demonstrators were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers Wednesday night, and more have been arrested on other nights of the protests, DHS has said.

With state police taking over public safety responsibilities outside Delaney Hall, ICE officers currently lining the entry have agreed to stand down, Sherril and state officials said.

In addition to the protest zones, she said, police will also be setting up vehicle checkpoints to regulate traffic and assure safe passage.

Sherril stressed that she doesn't want to give ICE “pretext” to expand operations in the state by letting things get out of hand.

“We know what ICE has done in other states, and we know American citizens lost their lives, and I refuse to let that happen in New Jersey,” the governor said. “We all need to do everything we can to cool things down now.”

Sherrill was among a group of Democratic officials who tried to visit detainees on Monday but were denied entry.

Democratic members of Congress from New York City, however, were able to tour Delaney Hall Tuesday and described dire conditions where detainees are fed small portions of often spoiled food and their varied medical needs are ignored.

The families of detainees and their supporters, meanwhile, say their loved ones have been subjected to pepper spray and physical force in retaliation for their hunger strike and the protests outside.