A curfew to curb violent protests around the embattled Newark immigration detention center, Delaney Hall, was lifted by the city’s Democratic mayor on Tuesday.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced the 9 p.m. curfew and designated free speech zones surrounding the facility would be lifted Tuesday night, after the restriction was instated on Sunday to control escalating clashes between anti-ICE protestersand law enforcement.
“After last night’s protest without a single arrest, we are lifting this curfew to allow full expression of the American right to free speech and to peacefully assemble,” Baraka said in a statement.
“In this spirit, I have full confidence in the ability of the Delaney Hall protesters to operate in a manner worthy of the innocent people incarcerated and mistreated by ICE and the for-profit imprisoners at Geo Group,” he added.
“I have faith in the policies and training of our community-focused police officers and our extended public safety ecosystem for violence prevention.”
The move comes after protesters from as far away as Portland, Oregon, have wreaked havoc outside the Newark facility — including allegedly biting federal law enforcement officers and threatening to kill an agent and his whole family.
Baraka added that a cordon around the facility would be lifted and protesters could once again assemble directly in front of Delaney Hall, rather than being forced to gather down the street from the facility.
Anti-ICE protesters cheered after the mayor’s announcement and screamed: “The people united will never be defeated. Video captured police lifting barricades as chanting crowds marched back to the detention center.
Newark Police have also taken the lead back from New Jersey State Police on controlling the area after Baraka blasted the past weekend’s police actions as “aggressive, unnecessary, and in some cases unconstitutional.”
After the city’s curfew was implemented on Sunday and Monday, 61 people were arrested on various charges, including failure to disperse, curfew violation, and resisting arrest, according to the Newark Police Department.
Chaos has engulfed the immigration detention facility in Newark since at least May 22, after top Democratic officials, including New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, raised concerns about inhumane conditions in the facility and the lack of visitation hours.
Inmates inside reportedly launched a hunger strike over the conditions, but the Trump administration has repeatedly countered that the standard of living at Delaney Hall is higher than that in most US prisons.
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