Newark Mayor Baraka’s police were absent as ICE deployed pepper spray at the protest
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Newark, NJ – Mayor Ras Baraka’s police department could not be reached as the situation escalated Wednesday night outside the Delaney Hall detention center for illegal immigrants. Protesters took on roles reserved for the police, and ICE agents deployed pepper spray after a state vehicle entered the grounds and caused chaos among the crowd.
Baraka, who lost in the Democratic Alliance’s 2025 presidential primary to Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who was arrested outside Delaney Hall during a similar riot last year, has been defiant in demanding federal and state officials take action to close the facility.
As Fox News Digital returned to the scene late Wednesday, hundreds were already gathered outside the car entrance to Delaney Hall, and another entrance — where Manhattan Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Daniel Goldman and Adriano Espaillat were officially in – it was lined with a protest tent and an open commission.
Doremus Avenue, a trash-strewn industrial area, was reduced to one lane — though not by Newark police or the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, but by protesters dressed as firemen.
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By 9PM ET, the southbound lanes of Doremus Avenue had been completely blocked by protesters, as vest-wearing “protester police” directed two vehicles that usually include large vehicles such as big rigs and goosenecks.
One Essex County Sheriff’s deputy drove by the scene quickly at one point, announcing that the protesters should move to the side of the road, but it was gone within seconds.
Some protesters appeared to break away from the group and quietly collect trash on the east side of the avenue, where the line of freight tracks ran.
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Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka speaks in Essex County, NJ His police force was nowhere to be found amid the chaos at his city’s detention center. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
As unmarked Delaney Hall transport vehicles approached from the south with green lights indicating that they wanted to enter the campus, the protesters stormed the gate and others exited from the cargo lane carrying large items.
Some protesters chanted “mirrors and tapes; mirrors and tapes,” indicating the following.
Protesters directed traffic and took control of the scene in front of Delaney Hall as Mayor Ras Baraka took police action. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News Digital)
Two mattresses, a sharp orange highway sign, tree branches and a sandbag were pushed through the door and thrown into the middle of Doremus Avenue as ICE officers could be heard urging the crowd back but to no avail.
As the Irvington-bound New Jersey Transit bus approached, it was briefly stuck in an empty lane when agents deployed pepper spray, isolating the scene around the stranded bus.
Immigrant activists protest arrests by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and confront ICE officers outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, NJ, on May 27, 2026. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu)
When the bus was able to pass, tear gas or pepper spray could be heard “going off” as another wave of anger filled the air.
In all that time, not a single Newark Police Department vehicle has come to the scene to clear the mess.
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Soon after, as Fox News Digital returned to town, Newark Police cruisers and police on foot lined the streets near the Prudential Center as concertgoers made their way out of the venue — away from the escalating conflict outside Delaney Hall.
Baraka merged Newark’s police and emergency management units under the mayor’s chief in 2015, creating the “Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security” that remains under his control, according to a source familiar with department officials.
“[This] The integration improves public safety by making the operation of these essential services efficient and effective,” Baraka said in a statement on the city’s website.
Baraka did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the absence of Newark police outside Delaney Hall.
In March, Baraka declared “sanctuary cities” like Newark as “America’s new Thin Blue Line.”
Baraka’s comments at the time in a New Jersey Globe column seem to foreshadow why his police always struggle during the chaos at Delaney Hall.
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He said cities like Newark are “fighting to stop ICE agents from violating the Constitution of our residents and ignoring local ordinances and law enforcement policies.”
Protesters placed bollards and mattresses in the middle of Doremus Avenue to redirect traffic and prevent ICE from entering, as Newark Police under Mayor Ras J. Baraka were absent but working at a nearby concert. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News Digital)
Instead of offering his city’s help to help ICE end the chaos, he boasted about an executive order requiring all city employees to report ICE activity that “seems to be abusive, unconstitutional” or outside of Newark’s legal policies.
“It also prohibits our police and other law enforcement officers from cooperating in international enforcement without a warrant.”
Fox News Digital also reached out to the police department and Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones’ office for comment on the balance of enforcement responsibilities between the two agencies.
Although he did not respond to a Fox News Digital investigation into the absence of police at the scene, Baraka issued a lengthy statement criticizing the contractor working on Delaney Hall and called on New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport to take legal action.
“It has been a year since the City has been fighting with the GEO Group due to failure to comply with the municipal laws when Delaney Hall started operating. Our complaints have not been resolved as critical agencies including the Department of Health, Fire Division and Code Enforcement, have been refused to inspect the facility,” said Baraka.
Baraka said the prisoners had “smuggled” books about poor conditions and lack of medical treatment.
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Nadler and Goldman said at a separate news conference outside Delaney Hall that inmates told them they were only given Tylenol (acetaminophen) for any ailments.
Baraka said Davenport and Sherrill should “immediately investigate Delaney Hall.”
Sherrill appeared at the center on Tuesday – voicing similar objections.
“It is important that we take all necessary measures to respect the law, ensure accountability, and protect the dignity and rights of some of the most vulnerable people in our care,” said Baraka in his statement.
Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan and Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.
