Trump says Delaney Hall protesters are ‘paid’ as clashes escalate outside NJ ICE facility
Anti-ICE protesters clash with federal agents in New Jersey
Alexis McAdams reports on anti-ICE protesters clashing with federal agents at a Newark, New Jersey, detention facility. Democratic officials, including Senator Andy Kim, demand the release of illegal immigrants on alleged hunger strike over conditions. DHS refutes hunger strike claims, accusing protesters of political stunts and blocking federal agents from their duties, citing arrests of migrants with serious criminal histories.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed protesters outside Delaney Hall as “fake” and “paid for” as demonstrations continued at the Newark ICE detention facility and Democratic lawmakers increased pressure over conditions inside.
“These aren’t protesters; these people are fake, they’re all paid for,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. “We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.”
Trump’s comments came after days of protests outside Delaney Hall, where detainees and family members have alleged overcrowding, poor living conditions and inadequate medical care inside the facility. Some detainees have also launched a hunger strike, according to Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J.
The controversy escalated Wednesday as Reps. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., and Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., were escorted into the facility amid growing scrutiny surrounding conditions inside the detention center.
PROTESTERS CLASH WITH ICE AS NJ DETENTION FACILITY DEMONSTRATIONS CONTINUE
President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, where he addressed protests outside the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Protests outside Delaney Hall began Friday and have continued throughout the week, at times turning chaotic as demonstrators clashed with ICE agents outside the facility. On Sunday night, protesters attempted to block vehicles from entering and exiting the detention center.
On Monday, officers deployed tear gas and forcibly removed protesters during confrontations outside the facility. Video from the scene showed officers throwing one protester to the ground and dragging another away from the entrance.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also defended conditions inside Delaney Hall and dismissed criticism from detainees and Democratic lawmakers.
SOMETHING TO HIDE? ICE UNDER FIRE FOR SUBSTANDARD CONDITIONS AT FOR-PROFIT DETENTION CENTER
An ICE agent wields a paintball gun from atop an armored vehicle amid ongoing protests at New Jersey’s Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. (WNYW)
“This isn’t Holiday Inn,” Mullin said when asked about complaints surrounding the facility.
Mullin also criticized elected officials who have appeared outside Delaney Hall, including Kim, who said he witnessed deteriorating conditions firsthand during a recent visit.
“I’m sorry, you probably shouldn’t have been there,” Mullin said when asked about Kim being pepper-sprayed outside the facility.
Kim told CNN detainees showed him spoiled food and described worsening conditions inside the center.
ICE agents detain a protester outside the Delaney Hall detention center after demonstrators protested the transfer of detainees in Newark, N.J., on May 26, 2026. (Andres Kudacki/AP)
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“A detainee handed me a carton of milk, and I looked at it, and it was just congealed solid, I mean it was absolutely disgusting,” Kim said.
ICE officials have denied allegations that detainees are being held in unsafe or inhumane conditions at the facility.
