A major breach at a federal immigration detention center in Newark has triggered a manhunt after four detainees managed to flee custody.
Detainees escape New Jersey immigration detention center
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed Friday that the individuals escaped from Delaney Hall, a detention center operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Authorities have not disclosed when or how the escape took place.
“Additional law enforcement partners have been brought in to find these escapees and a [be on the lookout] has been disseminated,” DHS stated on Friday.
“We encourage the public to call 911 or the ICE Tip Line: 866-DHS-2-ICE if they have information that may lead to the locating of these individuals.”
Protesters BLOCK ICE van from departing, then are mass pepper sprayed and thrown around in response outside the ICE Delaney Detention Center in New Jersey via @JonFarinaPhoto pic.twitter.com/S9aWfRMEg4
— Status Coup News (@StatusCoup) June 13, 2025
According to reports, the disturbance at the facility began Thursday evening after accusations surfaced about substandard conditions and prolonged hunger experienced by the detainees.
One woman whose spouse is being held at the site told CBS News New York that a violent altercation erupted during a meal period.
Family members of the inmates have claimed that individuals inside were not fed for nearly 20 hours.
When food finally arrived, it was reportedly in insufficient quantities, which intensified existing frustrations.
Inmate reports unrest at immigration detention center
Around 6 p.m. that evening, an inmate being held at the detention center made a call to a hotline operated by Deportation and Immigration Response Equipo, alleging that detainees were growing increasingly aggressive over food shortages.
The caller reported that a group was becoming unruly and beginning to cause physical damage to the facility, according to the New York Times.
Vans barrel past protestors into the street at Delaney Hall where people in detention were protesting insufficient lunch after a 20 hr period of NO food pic.twitter.com/9IAKEivQxk
— NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice (@NJAIJ) June 13, 2025
Ellen Whitt, a volunteer affiliated with the organization’s hotline, recounted the situation in an interview.
“People were hungry and got very angry and started to react and started to rebel against what was going on in the detention center,” said Whitt.
The caller claimed that other detainees had started attempting to break windows during the commotion.
Mustafa Cetin, a legal representative for one of the detainees, told NJ Advance Media that a large group — approximately 50 detainees — reportedly attempted to bring down part of the dormitory structure due to frustrations over delayed meals.
“Based on what he told me it was an outer wall, not very strong, and they were able to push it down,” Cetin said.
As tensions reached a boiling point inside the facility, personnel from a private security company attempted to regain control.
They were joined by responding ICE officers, but according to WABC-TV, multiple detainees were lost in the chaos. Four individuals remain unaccounted for.
While authorities were trying to manage the situation from within, left-wing demonstrators gathered outside Delaney Hall and attempted to obstruct law enforcement access.
LIVE protestors are barricading the gate at Delaney Hall to prevent more officers from entering https://t.co/L0Zh5avEyI
— NJ Alliance for Immigrant Justice (@NJAIJ) June 13, 2025
Video clips posted to X by the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice show activists using barricades to block the facility’s main entrance.
This recent escalation follows an incident around a month ago involving Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
Baraka was arrested for trespassing during a standoff at the facility, although the charge was ultimately dropped. Since then, the mayor has initiated legal action regarding the incident.
Democratic Representative LaMonica McIver was also taken into custody during the same altercation. She had reportedly interfered with officers who were arresting the mayor. She was indicted on three counts of “assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering” with federal officers.
Mayor Baraka has accused the operators of Delaney Hall of opening the facility without obtaining necessary permits or allowing government inspections. The Department of Homeland Security has rejected those claims.
Florida sheriff warns off rioters
Meanwhile, on Thursday in Florida, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey used a press briefing to give a stark warning about his state’s handling of disorder and the way events are unfolding in areas like California and New York.
Ivey stood alongside Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier as he addressed members of the media.
Ivey began by stating that residents are flocking to Florida “because they know their families will be safe here, their businesses will be safe. They won’t have to contend with what we’re seeing in places like Los Angeles and New York and Chicago.”
He attributed the safety of his state to the backing of law enforcement from state leaders and the no-tolerance policies implemented at the local level.
“Peaceful protest is welcome and part of our democracy,” Ivey said. “You do not want to do that in Brevard County.”
“If you resist lawful orders, you’re going to jail. Let me be very clear about that. If you block an intersection or a roadway in Brevard County, you are going to jail. If you flee arrest, you are going to go to jail tired because we are going to run you down,” he warned.
“If you try to mob-rule a car in Brevard County — gathering around it, refusing to let the driver leave — in our county, you’re most likely going to get run over and dragged across the street. If you spit on us, you are going to the hospital and then jail. If you hit one of us, you are going to the hospital and jail — and most likely, get bitten by one of our big, beautiful dogs.”
As he continued listing the consequences for violent behavior toward deputies, Ivey issued a final warning.
“If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying one of your family members where to collect your remains at because we will kill you, graveyard dead. We’re not going to play.”
Sheriff Ivey also referenced ongoing unrest in California, stating his disapproval of the violent confrontations aimed at ICE personnel there.
“Go protest all you want. Do it peacefully,” said Ivey. “But don’t you dare break the law.”
