Left-wing activists and Democrat politicians tried to come to the rescue of illegal immigrant detainees at a New Jersey detention center, mustering up chaos, with one Democrat senator there claiming victimhood as well.
Roughly 125 protesters gathered outside the facility on Monday, including New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill (D), Sen. Andy Kim (D), and some other lawmakers, supposedly responding to a hunger strike organized by inmates. Leftists claim that detainees are living in inhumane conditions.
“Immigrants at Delaney Hall are on a hunger strike because they are fighting for their human rights. The conditions there are deplorable,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) claimed.
“We’re working with our partners in the state to bring an end to this nightmare and I’ll be going to Delaney Hall again to conduct oversight.”
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the rioters “obstructed law enforcement from exiting the ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] facility.” After officers issued verbal commands to clear the area, the protesters refused and continued to block the entrance.
“Our law enforcement followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property,” DHS wrote.
According to reports, Kim was caught in the chaos and claimed to have “trouble breathing from the cloud of pepper spray deployed as a growing crowd of protesters responding to an inmate hunger strike demonstrated outside.”
But DHS made clear that “no individuals were directly struck by pepper ball projectiles.”
However, Kim maintained that ICE agents were the aggressors while expressing sympathy for the inmates, whom he said are protesting “disgusting food and poor treatment.”
“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,” the Democrat claimed, adding:
Civilians were tackled and restrained, and agents fired pepper balls and spray into the crowd. This is more of the same lawlessness we’ve seen elsewhere around the country. Our country deserves accountability. Our country deserves the humane treatment of every person here. In fact, our Constitution demands this. What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful. Delaney Hall is a failure; it’s this administration’s failure. 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.
“The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly — not rioting. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters,” DHS said, reminding the public that rioting is “dangerous — obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony.”
Notably, Kim was allowed inside the building, and the Daily Mail indicates that he was caught in the pepper spray cloud after the fact.
In a press release Monday, DHS called out leftist politicians for using Memorial Day to spread “smears” about the detention facility in New Jersey.
The detainees, DHS said, are given three meals per day as well as clean water, clothing, bedding, and toiletries for personal hygiene.
“Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” DHS responded, noting these detainees also have “comprehensive medical care from the moment” they arrive in custody.
Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis dismissed the chaos caused by rioters and Democrat politicians as “nothing more than a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks,” even denying the hunger strike altogether.
“There is NO hunger strike at Delaney Hall. There are NO subprime conditions or abuse at the facility,” she added, wondering why sanctuary politicians are not lauding ICE for taking criminals off the streets.
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