A confrontation outside a federal immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, has intensified scrutiny of both the conditions inside the facility and the federal government’s reliance on private prison contractors, after U.S. Sen. Andy Kim said he was pepper sprayed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers while attempting to monitor a protest linked to a detainee hunger strike.
The incident unfolded Monday outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center operated by private prison giant GEO Group under a $1 billion, 15-year contract with ICE. According to Kim and immigrant rights advocates, approximately 300 detainees at the facility have been participating in a hunger and work strike to protest what they describe as poor living conditions, inadequate food, lack of due process, and mistreatment.
Kim said he traveled to the facility after learning about the strike, joining a growing group of advocates, family members, and elected officials who had gathered outside the detention center. By the end of the day, the New Jersey Democrat had become one of several people receiving first aid after exposure to pepper spray during a chaotic confrontation between demonstrators and federal agents.
In a statement posted to social media following the protest, Kim described what he witnessed both inside and outside the facility.
“Detainees protesting the lack of due process, the disgusting food and poor treatment while their families and advocates stood outside calling for help,” he wrote. “Instead of engaging with me and others about the poor conditions, ICE sent in an armored vehicle and a line of armed agents that only poured gasoline on the fire.”
Kim further alleged that “Civilians were tackled and restrained, and agents fired pepper balls and spray into the crowd.”
Videos circulated online afterward showing volunteers flushing Kim’s eyes with water while he held an ice pack. Other footage showed him speaking directly with ICE officers and demonstrators during the standoff.
The senator later summarized the day in stark terms.
“What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful,” Kim wrote.
The confrontation emerged amid mounting allegations about conditions inside Delaney Hall. Family members of detainees and advocacy groups have described the facility as unsafe and poorly managed, raising concerns about access to food, medical care, and basic living conditions.
According to accounts cited by advocates, detainees have reported medical neglect, insufficient food, spoiled meals, and inadequate climate control inside the facility. Earlier this year, the ACLU of New Jersey noted that “when food is provided—as it is not often supplied—people have reported that it is frozen or otherwise inedible, in small portions, and distributed at odd hours, which is particularly harmful for people who are diabetic and trying to maintain a stable blood sugar level.”
Those complaints appear to have become a central motivation for the hunger and work strike that began late last week.
Outside the detention center, demonstrators expressed concern that detainees participating in the strike could be transferred to other facilities without notice. NJ.com reported that Kim attempted to broker a temporary arrangement between federal authorities and protesters. Under the proposed agreement, federal agents would reduce the visible tactical presence around the facility while advocates would be allowed to inspect departing vehicles to determine whether detainees were being moved elsewhere.
The effort failed as tensions escalated.
According to reports from the scene, agents began pushing demonstrators backward, deploying irritant-filled less-lethal rounds and making arrests. Kim was reportedly seen placing himself between protesters and officers, raising his arms in a stop gesture as the confrontation intensified.
Later, he joined others receiving treatment after being exposed to pepper spray.
Speaking to local media afterward, Kim said the events reflected broader concerns about federal immigration enforcement practices.
“What we saw here is unfortunately just what we see all over the country,” Kim told NJ.com. “It’s sad, it’s a sad day.”
The senator also connected the events at Delaney Hall to a wider pattern of allegations involving ICE operations in other states, referencing controversies and reported abuses that have drawn national attention in recent years.
The protest drew several high-ranking New Jersey officials in addition to Kim. Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill and U.S. Reps. Rob Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Nellie Pou also traveled to Delaney Hall as part of what was described as an oversight visit.
Sherrill and Menendez later stated that they were denied access when they first arrived at the facility. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson subsequently said Kim was granted entry after making a direct call to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. DHS did not confirm whether the other elected officials were eventually allowed inside.
The federal government has sharply disputed key elements of the demonstrators’ account.
The Department of Homeland Security characterized those gathered outside Delaney Hall as “dangerous rioters” and asserted that “no individuals were directly struck by pepper ball projectiles.”
Mullin also publicly rejected claims that detainees were engaged in a hunger strike, describing the lawmakers’ visit as a “political stunt.”
Those denials stand in contrast to descriptions provided by detainees’ families, advocates, organizers, and Kim himself, all of whom said the hunger and work strike was ongoing.
One of the organizers present outside the facility was Gabriela Soto, whose husband has reportedly been detained at Delaney Hall since February. Speaking about those being held inside, Soto emphasized the human impact of the detention system.
“The people inside Delaney Hall are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and members of our community,” she said. “In New Jersey, we believe in the rule of law and that everyone deserves to be treated with basic dignity. We have a duty to safeguard the rights, health, and well-being of everyone within our borders.”
For Kim, the events also renewed questions about the role of private prison companies in the immigration detention system. After touring the facility over the weekend, he criticized the use of for-profit detention centers operated by corporations that receive federal contracts.
“our government should focus on helping Americans afford their lives, not lock people up in for-profit detention centers where corporations like Geo Group and CoreCivic make billions,” Kim wrote.
He added a concise assessment of the detention model itself: “No profiting off of human misery.”
The senator also directed criticism toward the facility and the administration overseeing it.
“Delaney Hall is a failure; it’s this administration’s failure,” Kim said. “The only way to make this right for our communities is to shut it down and make sure the failures we’ve seen never happen again.”
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