NEWARK, N.J.— Chemical smoke drifted across Doremus Avenue at 10:12 p.m. on May 29. Then the horses charged. NJBallot footage captures the moment mounted state police officers advanced into a crowd outside Delaney Hall, hooves striking asphalt as riot cops escorted handcuffed protesters toward waiting vehicles and shouted at bystanders to move.
A state police officer told people on the sidewalk they had to move out of the way as the mounted unit pressed forward. One canister recovered at the scene carried markings identifying it as a CTS 3233 37/38mm Riot CS Smoke Multi-Projectile (3) with an 80-yard range, manufactured by Combined Tactical Systems in Jamestown, Pennsylvania. Product specifications from the manufacturer indicate the device delivers three projectiles using pyrotechnic dispersion.
The scene capped eight days of escalating confrontation at the Essex County ICE facility. Demonstrations began on May 22 and have since drawn state troopers, county sheriff’s deputies, Newark police, federal agents, congressional delegations and pro-ICE counter-protesters including members of the Proud Boys.
Arrests mounted across multiple nights. DHS reported at least six arrests on May 27 and nine more on May 28. NJ State Police arrested six on May 29. The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged one man federally on May 28. No agency released a consolidated tally, and the totals may overlap. Charges ranged from disorderly conduct and obstruction to assaulting federal officers. Five of the six protesters that state police arrested on May 29 came from out of state, according to Governor Mikie Sherrill’s office. Governor Sherrill deployed the State Police Public Safety Response Team to secure the perimeter after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed a 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew within a half-mile radius of the facility effective May 30.
WNBC reported that state police ordered its news crew to exit their marked vehicle during operations late Friday night. State police refused to let reporters pass the perimeter on May 31. NJ State Police had not issued a public statement about the incident as of June 1. NJ State Police Lt. Col. David Sierotowicz told outlets that ICE officers had “agreed to stand down” as state police assumed responsibility for facility security.
The facility itself sits on a federal contract that may lack valid municipal occupancy permits. Federal procurement records list the Delaney Hall contract as a 10-year indefinite delivery agreement with a ceiling value of $788,696,563. That figure reflects the contract ceiling in federal procurement databases. GEO Group, the Florida-based corporation operating the facility, has publicly described the deal as a 15-year arrangement worth roughly $1 billion. IDIQ contracts typically include option years and cost-of-living adjustments that may account for the higher figure, though GEO Group has not publicly explained the methodology behind its projection. Newark’s ongoing occupancy lawsuit against GEO Group, which NJBallot first reported in April, entered mediation this month with a June 15 deadline.
GEO Group reported $2.63 billion in total revenue for fiscal year 2025 and net income of $254.3 million, according to its annual Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Executive Chairman George C. Zoley said in the company’s February 2026 filing that the Trump administration’s enforcement agenda offered an “unprecedented opportunity” that could generate $800 million to $1 billion in incremental annual ICE revenues. The group pays detainee workers at its facilities $1 per day under a national voluntary work program that includes Delaney Hall. In October 2021, a Washington State federal jury previously ordered GEO to pay $17.3 million in back wages for minimum wage violations involving detained workers
GEO Group and its executives contributed approximately $1.7 million to Republican committees and Trump-aligned funds during the 2024 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. This included $1 million from a GEO subsidiary to the MAGA Inc. super PAC, $500,000 to the Trump-Vance inaugural committee and $670,000 to Republican candidates and PACs. The company spent $3.3 million on federal lobbying in 2025, including efforts to pass legislation forcing banks to resume financing private prisons.
Approximately 300 detainees launched a hunger and labor strike on May 22, demanding release hearings and an end to bond denials. Detainees and visiting elected officials have alleged live worms in meals and crowding in non-air-conditioned rooms. Others reported being denied medical care. After a May 23 visit with Representative Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Senator Andy Kim described a pregnant woman who received inadequate OB-GYN support, as well as one who already miscarried. DHS continues to deny the strike, repeating its position that the facility provides three meals daily and 24-hour medical care. Inside the facility, GEO acknowledged that staff used "control measures including limited use of chemical agents" during a detainee altercation on May 28.
Representative LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), whose federal charges from a May 2025 visit to the facility are on appeal, will appear for oral arguments before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia on June 23. On May 12, McIver introduced the No Delay for Immigration Oversight Act alongside Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Menendez. The bill would require DHS to allow immediate congressional access to detention facilities and cancel contracts with noncompliant operators. A federal appeals court struck down New Jersey’s law banning private immigration detention in July 2025, removing a major state-level barrier to GEO Group’s operations. The Trump administration has since pursued additional detention capacity at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and in Trenton.
Pro-ICE demonstrators, including members of the Proud Boys, gathered at the facility on May 30 with American flags and signs reading “Support ICE.” Police fencing separated the groups. One pro-ICE protester told the Associated Press that demonstrators were “basically here to support ICE... They’re just trying to do their jobs.” The Proud Boys’ official social media account acknowledged its members’ presence at the event.
Sherrill, who has called for Delaney Hall's closure since before her governorship and reiterated in May 2026 that she "never thought" it should open, is now deploying state police to secure its perimeter. She urged protesters to use designated “safe areas” and “bring the temperature down.” Attorney General Jennifer Davenport issued a statement on May 31 saying public safety “outweighs free speech” and condemning violence “either against protesters or by protesters.”
For New Jerseyans, the situation enters summer with no resolution. The facility houses roughly 800 detainees as of November, in a building where elected officials have reported non-functioning air conditioning, even as temperatures rise. Newark's lawsuit against GEO Group reaches a mediation deadline June 15. McIver's appeal hearing is June 23. And meanwhile the World Cup opens June 11 at MetLife Stadium, less than 10 miles from Delaney Hall. That international event will draw federal, state and local law enforcement resources to East Rutherford while the perimeter operation in Newark continues.
Related Articles
• Breaking: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested During Protest at ICE Detention Center
• Sherrill Denied Access to Delaney Hall As Hunger Strike Enters Sixth Day
• NJ Rep. LaMonica McIver Files Appeal in ICE Case, Citing Constitutional Immunity
Sources
• NJBallot.com on Facebook, video footage from Delaney Hall, Newark (May 29, 2026)
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, GEO Group 10-K Annual Report (2025)
• Federal Procurement Data System, Contract 70CDCR25D00000007
• U.S. District Court D.N.J., City of Newark v. GEO Re-Entry Group, 2:25-cv-02225
• NJ Superior Court Essex County, ESX-L-002510-25
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, CoreCivic v. Governor of New Jersey, 23-2598 (July 22, 2025)
• Federal Election Commission, GEO Acquisition II Inc. and GEO Group PAC disbursements (2024 cycle)
• Senate Office of Public Records, GEO Group lobbying disclosure (Q4 2025)
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, statement on Jean Wilson Brutus (December 2025)
• McIver, LaMonica, U.S. House of Representatives, “McIver Introduces No Delay for Immigration Oversight Act” (May 12, 2026)
• Davenport, Jennifer, New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, statement via X/@NewJerseyOAG (May 31, 2026)
• Sherrill, Governor, statement on Delaney Hall protests (May 30, 2026)
• Sierotowicz, Lt. Col. David, New Jersey State Police, statement to press (May 30, 2026)
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• ABC7 NY, “Newark Delaney Hall protests arrests” (May 31, 2026)
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• Prison Legal News, “GEO Group Washington State wage judgment” (March 2024)
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