NEWARK, N.J. — Family visitation at a New Jersey immigration detention center is set to resume after being suspended amid days of protests, arrests and clashes outside the facility, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Sunday.
In a statement posted on social media, Sherrill said the Department of Homeland Security had agreed to restore visitation at Delaney Hall, an ICE detention facility in Newark that has become the focus of demonstrations over allegations of poor conditions and the mistreatment of detainees.
“Starting today, limited visitation will resume at noon, and regular visitation hours will be restored beginning tomorrow,” Sherrill said. “Families should contact the facility directly for additional details.”
The governor said the move is a response to demands from state officials and advocates who have spent days criticizing conditions inside the facility and calling for greater transparency.
Visitors looking to see loved ones inside the facility were directed to a different entrance Sunday.
The announcement came after a tense week in which New Jersey State Police assumed responsibility for security outside Delaney Hall and established designated areas for protests in an effort to prevent further clashes between demonstrators and federal authorities.
Protesters have been gathering outside Delaney Hall for more than a week to support the detainees, who allege inadequate medical care, poor living conditions and delays in immigration proceedings, which DHS denies. Detainees have reportedly staged hunger strikes and labor strikes.
DHS suspended visitation on Memorial Day, citing safety concerns stemming from unrest outside the facility. Federal officials have accused protesters of threatening law enforcement officers and engaging in violent behavior.
A DHS spokesperson said Sunday that visitation was suspended only because unrest outside the facility made it unsafe for officers, detainees’ families and attorneys. The agency said visits could resume now that the area around Delaney Hall has been secured.
“We did not cave to the Governor’s demands,” the spokesperson said.
Saturday’s protests also drew counterprotesters who showed up to support ICE officers.
State officials said three people were arrested during Saturday night’s unrest, including one person accused of unlawfully possessing a weapon. Authorities alleged that a group of protesters charged police lines, threw projectiles, used barriers as weapons and set tires on fire, prompting officers to disperse the crowd and secure the area around the facility.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who last year was arrested outside Delaney Hall during an oversight visit, later imposed a nightly curfew around the detention center, citing public safety concerns.
By Sunday afternoon, the atmosphere was noticeably calmer.
The security perimeter kept demonstrators at a distance from the facility, with barricades and checkpoints separating roughly 100 protesters from the detention center. Dozens of demonstrators remained outside, chanting “Get ICE out” and “Whose streets? Our streets!”
Signs reading “Close Delaney Hall” lined the designated protest area, while some demonstrators flashed obscene gestures at the government vehicles passing the police checkpoint.
A state trooper told NBC News that authorities expect to maintain the security perimeter for several more days.
