New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill is catching significant heat after holding a press conference where she essentially sided with violent radical leftist protesters who have been causing a lot of trouble outside of Delaney Hall, a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detention center being used to house illegal aliens while they are being processed for deportation.
Chaos erupted at the detention center, located in Newark, as protesters clashed violently with law enforcement officers during demonstrations calling for the facility to be closed down. One incident that occurred during the fray was a sort of “tug of war” over a security fence. Things got so heated at one point that police, in a phalanx formation, armed with plastic shields, along with a fleet of police cruisers were forced to move the demonstration back.
Later, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was forced to institute a curfew for the area to keep the riff-raff out of the area. “Due to the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention, immediate action is required to protect public safety,” he went on to say in a post published on X. Rather than come out and condemn the actions and take steps to fix the situation, Sherrill stood with protesters and claimed to be working toward shutting the facility down.
According to a report from The New York Post, Sherrill made an announcement stating she would be restoring visitation rights for the 1,000 illegal immigrants being held at the privately-run facility, which is one of the grievances that led to the violent protests and hunger strikes by detainees in the first place. DHS, however, made it clear that it was them who resumed normal operations after regaining control over the violent protests.
A spokesperson for DHS released a statement addressing the situation, saying, “We did not cave to the Governor’s demands. Visitation was suspended because the violent riots outside the facility made it unsafe for our officers, detainees’ families and lawyers to visit the facility. With Delaney Hall secure, ICE operations continue as normal,” the spokesperson added. “To be clear: Visitation was only suspended because of violent riots. Now that we have a secure perimeter, visitation can resume.”
During the press conference, Sherrill said, I will continue pushing the Department of Homeland Security to provide appropriate medicine and care for all detainees in Delaney Hall, give detainees a meaningful chance to review their cases, stop pressuring detainees into signing deportation documents, and be
transparent about who is being held in the facility.”
“And I’ll keep pressing DHS to close Delaney Hall down for good,” the governor added. However, one user on social media platform X weighed in on Sherrill’s statement, pointing out that when the facility was first open under the Obama administration, she and other Democrats celebrated. “You Democrats lobbied for and celebrated the grand opening of Delaney Hall just a few short years ago? What changed?” the user asked.
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“Obama filled it up two weeks after it was opened and deported more illegals than any other POTUS before him or since,” the individual added. Conservatives believe the reason for Sherrill siding with the violent protesters was to score political points with the Democratic Party and its voters. That and a deep hatred for President Donald Trump.
“Let me be clear: ICE engagement creates an incredibly dangerous situation. It makes the situation worse, and I refuse to back down in fighting the Trump administration,” Sherrill stated in a different press conference, making it clear she was not in support of ICE continuing operations to round up illegal aliens and deport them back to their countries of origin.
“We know that people from outside the state have been interfering in the protest and escalating them. To the people coming from out of state to create chaos and dangerous situations: You should not be here,” she added. A number of Democratic Party lawmakers visited the center over the weekend, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New Jersey Reps. Menendez, LaMonica McIver and Josh Gottheimer.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video