Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents used pepper spray and pepper balls to disperse protesters outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark on Monday [1, 2].
The incident involves a sitting U.S. senator and highlights escalating tensions regarding the treatment of detainees in privately run facilities. The confrontation occurred as activists gathered to protest facility conditions and support a detainee who was on the fourth day of a hunger strike [1, 2].
Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) was among those affected by the chemical agents during the clash. Kim said, "It's just burning" [2]. He said, "I had trouble breathing from the cloud of pepper spray deployed" [3].
Dozens of ICE agents were involved in the effort to clear the area outside the facility [1]. The agents deployed the irritants to break up the crowd that had gathered to draw attention to the hunger strike and the general state of the detention center [1, 2].
Delaney Hall is a privately run ICE detention center located in New Jersey [2, 3]. The use of force against a member of Congress is expected to draw scrutiny regarding the tactics used by federal agents to manage public demonstrations at these sites [2].
“"It's just burning"”
The deployment of chemical agents against a U.S. senator underscores the volatility of protests surrounding ICE detention centers. Because Delaney Hall is privately operated, this incident may intensify legislative debates over the oversight of private contractors and the legality of the force used to suppress protests centered on human rights claims, such as hunger strikes.
