Delaney Hall protesters arrested as riot police storm streets. Chaos continues as curfew begins.
The unrest at Delaney Hall continued Sunday night after the first enactment of an emergency curfew around the federal immigration jail.
Hundreds of cops in riot gear led by the New Jersey State Police detained several people after the curfew went into effect at 9 p.m. Sunday.
The curfew runs until 6 a.m. in a half-mile zone around the immigration jail on Doremus Avenue in Newark.
New Jersey State Police-led officers descend on Delaney Hall protesters after a 9 p.m. curfew began near the immigration jail in Newark on Sunday, May 31, 2026. The police made several arrests and chased the media away from the area.(Ian Peters | For NJ.com)
Social media posts showed police increasingly surrounding protesters and the media at about 10 p.m. and officers running aggressively into the protest zone. Members of the media reported being run out of the area.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s X account retweeted a post at 10:15 p.m. that bragged about surrounding the protesters — a tactic called kettling.
At 11:30 p.m., state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport issued a statement thanking police for “de-escalating” the situation.
Davenport wrote she was grateful for the peaceful protesters who complied with the curfew. People gathered in the protest zone were warned, in English and Spanish, to leave and many did.
“But a group of individuals who had come to the protest with armed with helmets, shields, or gas masks deliberately refused to comply with repeated orders to leave the area and were arrested, and I am grateful for law enforcement for de-escalating the situation,” Davenport said.
Earlier, military-style armored vehicles moved into the area about an hour before the curfew. Troopers issued a verbal warning about the curfew at about 8:30 p.m. with an Essex County Sheriff’s school bus-style vehicle in the background, possibly to be used for mass arrests.
One person arrested appeared to be Asma Elhuni, an immigration advocate with Resistencia en Acción NJ. Live footage aired on MS NOW showed her being led away in handcuffs. Several more protesters followed.
Elhuni’s organization was trying to get more information about her apparent arrest, a spokesperson said.
The immigration jail on Doremus Avenue in Newark has been ground zero for anti-ICE protesters for about a week now, and the presence of the troopers starting this past Friday night has intensified the skirmishes.
New Jersey State Police-led officers descend on Delaney Hall protesters after a 9 p.m. curfew began near the immigration jail in Newark on Sunday, May 31, 2026. The police made several arrests and chased the media away from the area.(Ian Peters | For NJ.com)
The State Police have used horses, tear gas and an increasing perimeter of metal gates to keep protesters away from the facility, along with the media.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherril has defended her deployment of the troopers, who she said initially were sent to the state’s largest city to create “peaceful protest zones.”
The unrest has continued largely unabated.
Earlier Sunday, Sherrill and Davenport, suggested public safety outweighs free speech at Delaney Hall, and urged protesters to bring down the temperature.
The governor also blamed “out of state” agitators for the troubles.
Earlier Sunday, some protesters were turning against the Democrat, who took office in January.
“Mikie Sherrill you can’t run, we know that you work for Trump,” some chanted.
“Mikie Sherrill, I want you to take a look. We are peaceful. Take a look. Do not call us rioters,” Elhuni said into a megaphone at the front of the perimeter as the curfew approached, a social media post showed. “We are here exercising our rights!”
New Jersey State Police-led officers descend on Delaney Hall protesters after a 9 p.m. curfew began near the immigration jail in Newark on Sunday, May 31, 2026. The police made several arrests and chased the media away from the area.(Ian Peters | For NJ.com)
