New Jersey Democrats spent Memorial Day focusing less on honoring America’s fallen heroes and more on protesting an ICE detention facility in Newark — because apparently that’s how they celebrate our heroes: by bashing some.
Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim showed up at Delaney Hall, a privately operated migrant detention center, demanding the facility be shut down over claims of poor conditions and an ongoing hunger strike by detainees. Both politicians met with families of detainees and community activists while continuing to pressure ICE for more access to the center.
Kim took to X declaring that “Delaney Hall must be shut down immediately,” accusing ICE of operating improperly and insisting Democrats would continue “speaking out” alongside activists. Because nothing says effective immigration policy like public grandstanding on a federal holiday.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security wasn’t buying the performance. A DHS spokesperson blasted Sherrill’s visit as “nothing more than a political stunt,” especially after protests outside the facility escalated into chaos over the weekend.
According to DHS, around 125 agitators surrounded the detention center Sunday carrying anti-ICE signs and even Antifa flags. Protesters reportedly formed human chains around entrances and blocked access points to the building. So much for the “mostly peaceful” crowd — Americans have heard that one before.
The Delaney Hall facility, which was converted into an immigration detention center last year, has become a target for activist groups and Democrat officials who claim detainees are being mistreated. Protesters allege poor living conditions, while some detainees have reportedly participated in a hunger strike.
Sherrill claimed she was “deeply disturbed” by reports coming out of the facility and repeated her long-standing opposition to private detention centers. She also called for DHS accountability while coordinating with federal lawmakers and immigration advocacy groups.
But DHS pushed back hard against the narrative, outlining the conditions detainees actually receive inside the facility. According to the agency, detainees are provided three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, toiletries, medical care, mental health services, legal communication access, and emergency treatment when necessary.
In fact, DHS pointed out that ICE detention standards are often higher than those in many U.S. prisons housing American citizens. That’s a detail activists conveniently tend to skip over.
The agency also noted that for many illegal immigrants entering ICE custody, the medical care they receive is “the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.” Not exactly the picture Democrats are trying to paint during their latest anti-border-enforcement campaign.
Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. also attempted to visit Delaney Hall alongside Kim but was denied entry Sunday. Civil rights organizations, including the ACLU of New Jersey, continue attacking the facility and demanding its closure, arguing it threatens constitutional freedoms and immigrant rights.
Still, the bigger issue remains the same: the Biden-era immigration crisis continues overwhelming communities nationwide, while Democrat leaders seem more focused on defending illegal immigrants than supporting the officers tasked with enforcing federal law.
ICE agents continue doing the difficult job many politicians refuse to acknowledge — protecting the border, maintaining order, and enforcing laws already on the books. And despite the political theater unfolding outside Delaney Hall, Americans increasingly understand that secure borders and lawful immigration still matter.
