Arrests Made After a Curfew Takes Effect at an ICE Facility. The Mayor Who Ordered It Was Arrested at the Same Gate a Year Ago.
State police in riot gear made arrests late Sunday night, May 31, 2026, after protesters refused to leave the half-mile zone around Delaney Hall, the 1,000-bed ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, once a nightly 9 p.m. curfew took effect. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport (D) said a group who arrived “armed with helmets, shields, or gas masks” ignored repeated dispersal orders and were taken into custody.
The curfew was ordered by Mayor Ras Baraka (D)— the same Democratic mayor who, in May 2025, was himself arrested and charged with trespassing at Delaney Hall while protesting the facility’s opening. The charge was later dropped. A year later, the movement he championed had grown violent enough that he ordered it cleared.
The clashes had escalated for nearly two weeks: fires set, barricades used as weapons, projectiles thrown, and — according to a Justice Department official — three federal officers bitten. Any person charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
- 9 p.m.–6 a.m.the nightly curfew Mayor Baraka imposed within a half-mile of Delaney Hall, until further notice — ABC7 NY · The Hill · May 31, 2026
- 6protesters arrested earlier in the week for allegedly assaulting law enforcement, per DHS — ABC7 NY · Washington Times · 2026
- 3federal officers reported bitten during the clashes, a DOJ official said — Washington Times · June 1, 2026
- May 2025when Mayor Baraka was himself arrested at Delaney Hall and charged with trespassing — later dropped — Washington Post · May 9, 2025
- 1,000beds at Delaney Hall, the GEO Group-operated facility that opened in 2025 — CNN · TIME · 2026
The order took effect at 9 p.m. The arrests came after the dispersal warnings ran out. Some came equipped for a fight.
On Sunday, May 31, 2026, Newark’s mandatory nightly curfew around Delaney Hall went into effect for the first time, covering the half-mile radius surrounding the detention facility on Doremus Avenue from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Police began issuing dispersal warnings in English and Spanish, and a heavy law enforcement presence — New Jersey State Police in riot gear, many forming lines with shields — moved to clear the curfew zone.
Most demonstrators left. A group did not. New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said that “a group of individuals who had come to the protest armed with helmets, shields, or gas masks deliberately refused to comply with repeated orders to leave the area and were arrested.” Officers encircled a cluster of protesters near Doremus and Wilson Avenues; several were taken into custody. The total count was not immediately released; coverage ranged from “several” to dozens, with one livestreamer on the ground counting 46.
We report only what officials and named outlets have confirmed. The exact number of curfew-night arrests and the specific charges had not been fully released as of the morning of June 1. Anyone charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. We will update this page as the Attorney General’s office and local prosecutors release attributable figures.
In May 2025, Ras Baraka was handcuffed at this gate. In May 2026, he ordered the gate cleared. The same man, the same fence, opposite ends of the line.
The detail that turns a local protest story into a study in political whiplash is the mayor himself. Ras Baraka (D), the Democratic mayor of Newark, was arrested at Delaney Hall on May 9, 2025, and charged with trespassing after he joined members of Congress attempting an “oversight” visit during the facility’s contested opening. He spent roughly five hours in custody before a federal magistrate ordered him released without bond; the trespassing charge was formally dismissed weeks later.
That arrest became a launching pad. Baraka, who was then running in the Democratic primary for governor, cast the moment as principled resistance to federal immigration enforcement in a sanctuary state. A year later, the protest movement he had helped elevate had escalated into nightly clashes outside the same building — and Baraka, as mayor, was the official who signed the curfew order that authorized state police to arrest the people on the street.
None of this is hypocrisy in the legal sense; a mayor has a duty to keep the streets safe, and that is the stated basis for the order. But it is a fact worth recording. The political energy that Democratic officials in New Jersey channeled into opposing Delaney Hall did not dissipate. It hardened. And when it turned violent, it was a Democratic mayor who had to call in riot police to contain it.
- Mayor Ras Baraka (D)Mayor of Newark, New JerseyOrdered the half-mile, 9 p.m.–6 a.m. curfew around Delaney Hall. Was himself arrested at the facility in May 2025 and charged with trespassing; the charge was later dropped.
- Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D)Governor of New JerseySaid the state was 'making progress' on public safety while protecting protest rights; deployed New Jersey State Police to assume security operations at the site.
- AG Jennifer DavenportNew Jersey Attorney GeneralSaid those arrested under the curfew arrived 'armed with helmets, shields, or gas masks' and refused repeated orders to disperse; emphasized most demonstrators had been peaceful.
- Sec. Markwayne MullinU.S. Secretary of Homeland SecurityDisputed the inhumane-conditions claims — 'This isn't Holiday Inn' — and said anyone who assaults a federal officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
“A group of individuals who had come to the protest armed with helmets, shields, or gas masks deliberately refused to comply with repeated orders to leave the area and were arrested.”
N.J. Attorney General Jennifer Davenport · statement · May 31, 2026
Advocates allege a hunger strike over inhumane conditions. The federal government says there is no hunger strike. Both can’t be fully true.
The standoff rests on a factual dispute that has not been independently resolved. Advocates, attorneys, and Democratic lawmakers say detainees inside Delaney Hall launched a hunger strike over what they describe as overcrowding, inadequate medical and legal access, spoiled food, and unsanitary conditions. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) and other Democrats said they witnessed deteriorating conditions during oversight visits.
The Trump administration flatly denies it. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (R) said on social media that “there is NO hunger strike at Delaney Hall” and that “there are no subprime conditions,” accusing New Jersey’s “sanctuary politicians” of staging a “political stunt.” GEO Group, the private contractor that operates the 1,000-bed facility, denies the mistreatment allegations. ICE has said it has detained migrants with serious criminal histories.
We do not have independent verification of the inside conditions, and we are not asserting either side’s version as settled fact. What is not in dispute is what happened outside the fence: a sustained, sometimes violent confrontation that a Democratic mayor ultimately moved to shut down with a curfew and state police.
- →Advocates / Democratic lawmakers: Detainees launched a hunger strike over overcrowding, poor medical and legal access, and spoiled food (claims attributed to Sen. Andy Kim and others).
- →DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin: 'There is NO hunger strike at Delaney Hall' and 'there are no subprime conditions'; called it a 'political stunt.'
- →GEO Group (operator): Denies the mistreatment allegations at the 1,000-bed facility, which opened in 2025.
- →Not independently verified: The condition claims on either side. Civic Intelligence reports the dispute, not a resolution.
Washington called the demonstrators “paid” and promised prosecutions. The state called most of them peaceful.
The federal government’s posture was combative. President Trump dismissed the demonstrators as “fake” and “all paid for,” and defended the facility: “We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.” Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche pointed to the injuries — “These riots are clearly not ‘peaceful protests’” — and Secretary Mullin vowed that “anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” A Justice Department official said three officers suffered bite wounds.
New Jersey’s framing was more measured. Attorney General Davenport stressed that the “overwhelming majority” of demonstrators had remained peaceful and that the arrests targeted a specific group that came equipped for confrontation and ignored dispersal orders. Governor Sherrill said the state was “making progress” on balancing public safety with the right to protest. The gap between those two descriptions is itself part of the story.
These aren't real protesters — they're fake and paid for. We run the finest facilities of their type anywhere in the world. Anyone who attacks our law enforcement will pay a heavy price.
Paraphrased commentary · not a verbatim post
Paraphrase of remarks reported by Fox News, June 2026.
There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall and there are no subprime conditions. This is a political stunt by sanctuary-state politicians. Assault a federal officer and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Paraphrased commentary · not a verbatim post
Paraphrase of statements reported by Fox News and NBC News, June 2026.
Anti-ICE agitators in Newark assaulted federal officers — three suffered bite wounds. The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line every day. Anyone who attacks them will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Delaney Hall is a fully accredited detention facility. Claims of inhumane conditions are false. ICE detains individuals subject to lawful immigration proceedings, including those with serious criminal histories.
A sanctuary-state confrontation that Democratic officials helped start, and then had to police. That contradiction is the civic lesson.
Delaney Hall sits at the intersection of two policies that were always going to collide. New Jersey is a sanctuary jurisdiction whose Democratic leadership — from the governor’s office to the Newark mayoralty — opposed the facility’s opening and treated resistance to it as a defining cause. The federal government, by contrast, made the facility a centerpiece of its detention expansion. When those positions met on Doremus Avenue, the result was nightly unrest.
The accountability question is not whether anyone has a right to protest — they do. It is what happens when officials who encouraged confrontation discover they are also responsible for the order that confrontation breaks. Mayor Baraka championed the cause, was arrested for it, then had to impose a curfew against it. That arc is not a gotcha; it is a real and documented consequence of a policy posture, and readers deserve to see it laid out plainly.
We will keep this page current as the facts firm up — the verified arrest totals, the charges filed, the outcome of the conditions dispute inside the facility, and whether the curfew holds or is challenged in court.
The curfew worked as a containment tool. The contradiction behind it is the durable fact. Both belong in the record.
What is confirmed: A Democratic mayor, Ras Baraka of Newark, imposed a half-mile, 9 p.m.–6 a.m. curfew around the Delaney Hall ICE facility; state police cleared the zone on the first night, May 31, 2026; and a group that arrived with helmets, shields, or gas masks was arrested after refusing to disperse. Earlier in the week, six people were arrested for allegedly assaulting officers, and three federal officers were reportedly bitten.
What is not yet confirmed: the precise number of curfew-night arrests, the specific charges, and the truth of the dueling claims about conditions inside the facility. The federal government and the protesters tell irreconcilable stories about what is happening on the other side of the fence, and that has not been independently resolved. Everyone charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The frame that survives all the open questions is the one in the headline: the official who ordered the streets cleared is the same official who was once handcuffed on them. Mayor Baraka, Governor Sherrill, Attorney General Davenport, and Secretary Mullin are named here for the record. When attributable figures arrive, this page will carry them.
