ACLU-NJ criticizes State Police tactics outside Delaney Hall as Sherrill stands by response
Civil liberties group calls State Police tactics an unnecessary response to mostly peaceful protests
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey on Saturday condemned the New Jersey State Police response to protests outside Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center Friday night, arguing that officers used unnecessary force against what the organization described as overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators.
The criticism came a day after state troopers moved to clear areas around the federal immigration detention center using mounted officers, shields, tear gas, and other crowd-control tactics. Activists and reporters at the scene also reported the use of tear gas.
Videos and photographs shared on social media and by people at the scene showed state troopers in riot gear advancing on crowds near the facility. Troopers carrying shields moved demonstrators away from the roadway while officers on horseback helped push crowds back from areas surrounding the detention center. At one point late Friday, troopers ordered a WNBC television crew out of its marked news vehicle and into an area where tear gas had been deployed, according to accounts from the scene.
“This week’s protests at Delaney Hall – including last night – have been overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations of people exercising their constitutional right to call out the inhumanity of the immigration detention and deportation system,” said John Butler, political director of the ACLU of New Jersey.
“The real harm we’re facing isn’t from peaceful protests, but from the rampant ICE raids tearing apart our communities, the brutality of the immigration detention system, and the retaliation and excessive force being used against detainees, observers, journalists, and protesters,” Butler said. “The burden is on the state to demonstrate that it values the First Amendment rights of protesters, and the dignity and humanity of those victimized by the federal government’s mass deportation agenda.”
“New Jersey’s response must prioritize the safety and well-being of people – not mimic the dangerous and overly militarized tactics of the federal government,” Butler said. “The New Jersey State Police’s actions against protesters at Delaney Hall were an unnecessary response to free speech and the right to peaceful protest.”
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Gov. Mikie Sherrill defended the operation in a written statement Saturday morning, saying the state police response was necessary to protect public safety and prevent a potentially larger confrontation involving federal immigration authorities.
“My top priority is keeping New Jerseyans and our communities safe – and an increased ICE surge in the area outside of Delaney Hall is a threat to public safety. We know that lives would be at risk were that to happen. And I will not accept that risk,” Sherrill said.
“That is why last night, the New Jersey State Police Public Safety Response Team acted to secure the area outside of Delaney Hall. This was absolutely necessary to protect public safety, and avoid escalation from ICE. As Americans, we have a right to protest — and we will continue to ensure New Jersey residents can peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill urged protesters to remain peaceful, stay within designated protest areas, and “work together to bring the temperature down.” She said demonstrators should continue advocating for better conditions for detainees and their families, as well as for the closure of Delaney Hall.
On Friday afternoon, Sherrill and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced that the New Jersey State Police would assume responsibility for public safety operations outside the detention center and establish designated protest zones in an effort to reduce tensions while protecting both public safety and the right to protest.
The protests outside Delaney Hall have continued for more than a week and intensified after detainees inside the facility launched a hunger and work strike. Family members, immigration advocates, faith leaders, elected officials, and community activists have gathered daily outside the facility, demanding improved conditions and greater transparency about what is happening inside the detention center.
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Krystal Knapp is the founder of The Jersey Vindicator and the hyperlocal news website Planet Princeton. Previously she was a reporter at The Trenton Times for a decade.