A group of demonstrators was arrested late Wednesday outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, after nearly a week of protests over living conditions at the facility that have been described as filthy and inhumane.

The day after the arrests, relatives of detainees at Delaney Hall and advocates for immigrants said that incarcerated migrants were being beaten and subjected to pepper spray following a hunger strike by some inmates.

For months, many detainees have complained to family members and elected officials about rotten food and inadequate medical care at Delaney Hall, which is overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Democratic officials in New Jersey have focused on the issue and toured the facility, echoing the concerns raised by inmates.

“I got a call this afternoon from my husband, and he goes, ‘Honey, they’re hitting us,’” said Gabriela Fuentes, 35, whose spouse, Jose Marroquin, was detained in January and is being held at Delaney Hall. “I could hear all these guys yelling for help in Spanish in the background.”

Federal officials have denied that a hunger strike is taking place, but Fuentes disputed that claim and said that her husband had participated.

100 Protesters Gathered

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said that about 100 protesters had gathered around Delaney Hall late Wednesday and that some had thrown objects at federal agents. Six were arrested and accused of assaulting law enforcement officers.

The agency said that local police officials had not intervened. The Newark Department of Public Safety did not answer inquiries about the protests.

“Assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement is a crime and felony,” the Department of Homeland Security said. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Federal officials did not immediately respond late Thursday to a request for comment about the assertions that detainees had been beaten earlier in the day.

On Thursday afternoon, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who has challenged the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, said that state health officials had sought to inspect the facility but were denied access.

“As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” Sherrill said in a statement. “New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down.”

During a news conference, Sherrill described protesters as peaceful and said that “what seems to really be inciting a lot of this are really the ICE agents.”

In a post on social platform X, Sen. Andy Kim, a fellow Democrat who was among a group of demonstrators that was the target of pepper balls and spray Monday during a clash with the agents, said that his office had received calls Thursday saying that physical force was being used against detainees.

On Thursday afternoon, the relatives of detainees began to complain that prisoners were being physically attacked by guards using fists, batons and chemical irritants.

“My husband was choking when he was trying to talk to me,” Fuentes said. “Why did this happen?”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Ana Ley and Mark Bonamo/Todd Heisler
c. 2026 The New York Times Company