OAN Staff Jenna Lee
9:49 AM – Saturday, May 30, 2026
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed victory after New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill ordered state police to manage the chaotic demonstrations blockading Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Delaney Hall detention center in Newark.
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On Friday, Sherrill (D-N.J.) issued an order for state police to implement a “protected protest zone” outside the facility, which has been plagued by escalating clashes between anti-ICE demonstrators and federal agents over the past week.
“This is a win for law and order. After days of Governor Sherrill REFUSING to allow State Police to assist ICE law enforcement against violent anti-ICE rioters, she is now allowing the New Jersey State Police to cooperate with us. Thank you, Governor,” said Mullin in a post on X on Friday.
Delaney Hall marks the first major test of Mullin’s tenure over the DHS. Dozens of protestors have been arrested outside the detention center, while inside, hundreds of detainees have staged a hunger strike over claims of inhumane treatment and inadequate medical care.
Mullin, whom President Donald Trump tapped to replace former Secretary Kristi Noem, has been on the job for roughly two months, navigating a department rocked by funding debates and a backlog of contracts.
He argued that the backlash has nothing to do with the facility’s conditions, asserting that the DHS provides three meals a day, clean water, clothing and proper resources.
Since reopening in Newark last year, Delaney Hall has been a hotbed for high-profile protests, arrests and escapes. Sherrill and other Democrat lawmakers have long pushed for the facility to be shut down. On Memorial Day, Sherrill joined protesters outside, but was denied access by ICE.
“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 need to focus on advocating for better conditions for the detainees, for their families, and ultimately, for the closure of Delaney Hall,” said Sherrill in a statement.
While the New Jersey Assembly GOP has heavily criticized the governor’s adversarial stance against ICE — including her signing a bill in March that banned ICE officers from wearing identity-concealing masks — Sherrill emphasized that her state police order was meant to lower the temperature, not endorse federal immigration policies.
It remains unclear whether state law enforcement can successfully contain the situation as both anti-ICE and pro-ICE protestors prepare to converge at the facility this weekend.
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