Sherrill Announces 'Peaceful Protected Protest Zone' At ICE Facility In Effort To 'Cool Things Down'

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Okay, thank you so much, Attorney General Davenport, Superintendent Hanger Muel, and Lieutenant Colonel Serodowitz.

[00:00:07]I want to talk today about the situation at Delaney Hall, a private detention facility in Newark that I've long said needs to close.

[00:00:16]For days, we've heard reports of unsafe, inhumane, and unconstitutional conditions there.

[00:00:23]I've personally heard from families, some of the hundreds of people being held, people who are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, members of our communities, including people with no criminal charges against them and who are in this country legally. For days, I've asked ICE to act for access to inspect conditions, to see what's happening inside in New Jersey on our soil. I went there myself and I was denied entry. For days, my colleagues in our federal congressional delegation have done the same.

[00:00:57]For days, ICE has refused most of our requests, raising serious questions about what it's trying to hide from public view.

[00:01:05]Yesterday, the New Jersey Department of Health sought to inspect the site, but it was denied full access as well.

[00:01:12]And for days, protests have grown.

[00:01:16]We've seen increasing violence, arrests, and pepper spray at Delaney Hall, as well as public threats from the Trump administration.

[00:01:25]And we've seen the risk to public safety rising outside of Delaney Hall. It has grown unsafe and that's completely unacceptable.

[00:01:34]We know what ICE has done in other states and we know American citizens lost their lives. And I refuse to let that happen in New Jersey.

[00:01:44]We all need to do everything we can to cool things down now.

[00:01:49]I will not give ICE the pretext to expand operations in our state. For that reason, New Jersey law enforcement is today establishing a peaceful, protected protest zone in the area right outside Delaney Hall. My administration will be working together with community members, faith leaders, advocates, and state police to help people move there today.

[00:02:13]Our top priority is public safety, and we need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature now.

[00:02:21]I've served nearly 10 years in the Navy.

[00:02:23]I took my first oath to the United States Constitution as a teenager, swearing to protect our rights with everything up to and including my life.

[00:02:31]I recently took an oath to the Constitution of New Jersey. I am going to protect people's right to protest peacefully, and I'm going to ensure everyone's safety, and I am confident in New Jersey we can do both.

[00:02:43]I'm also confident in our ability to ensure Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure, and First Amendment guarantees of free speech and free assembly. We will uphold the rule of law.

[00:02:57]Delaney Hall is a private detention facility run by a for-profit company providing zero transparency.

[00:03:05]I'm going to keep working with families and advocates to demand answers. I'll keep working with state police and law enforcement to keep all New Jersey residents safe. I'm continuing to take every action available to get the Department of Health inside the facility to do a full inspection, and I'll keep pushing to see Delaney Hall closed. I'll also keep calling on everyone there now, especially ICE, to de-escalate the situation, to act humanely, to protect protest peacefully, and to respect the laws and the Constitution of the United States. And now I'll turn it over to the Attorney General, who will share more.