A tense scene outside Delaney Hall
Late Wednesday in Newark, the area around the Delaney Hall detention center turned into a mess that looked less like public order and more like a group project nobody wanted to lead. Fox News Digital found hundreds gathered near the vehicle entrance, while the other entrance had a protester medical tent and what looked like a commissary. Doremus Avenue, already a rough industrial strip, was lined with people, trash, and enough agitation to make a city press office reach for the quietest possible statement. Protesters were not just demonstrating. They were taking over the jobs that usually belong to police, which is a bold way to handle civil unrest and a terrible way to handle civil unrest.
Traffic control by costume
By 9 p.m. ET, protesters had reduced Doremus Avenue to one lane and were directing traffic in reflective vests as if buying a vest at a hardware store made them deputized. Big rigs and other large vehicles moved through the area while a lone Essex County sheriff’s deputy briefly told the crowd to get onto the sidewalk, then disappeared almost as quickly as he arrived. Some protesters even picked up trash along the side of the road, which was thoughtful, though still not a substitute for actual law enforcement. The scene showed a familiar modern trick: if enough people act like they are in charge, the public is supposed to pretend it counts as order.
ICE vehicles arrived, and the crowd surged
When unmarked Delaney Hall transport vehicles approached with flashing blue lights, the crowd surged toward the entrance. Some protesters came from the freight tracks carrying large items, and others could be heard calling for goggles and tape, which is usually a bad sign unless you are in a science lab or a riot. Two mattresses, a shredded orange highway bollard, tree branches, and a sandbag were pushed toward the entrance and tossed into the road. As an Irvington-bound New Jersey Transit bus tried to pass, it got trapped in the middle of the unmanaged lane while ICE agents used pepper spray to push the crowd back. Another canister popped moments later, and the air filled again with irritant. That is what happens when the people assigned to keep order are outnumbered by the people who insist order is oppression.
Newark police stayed away while Baraka stayed political
All of this happened without a single Newark Police Department vehicle showing up to calm the scene outside Delaney Hall. Later, police cruisers and officers on foot were visible downtown near the Prudential Center, far from the standoff. Mayor Ras Baraka, who controls the city’s consolidated police and emergency management setup, has been openly hostile to ICE and has described sanctuary cities as the new Thin Blue Line in America. He also backed an executive order telling city employees to report ICE activity they believe seems abusive or unconstitutional. Baraka did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, which is a familiar form of public accountability in modern city government: say plenty, answer nothing, and hope the paperwork does the heavy lifting.
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