Car drives into protest line outside ICE detention center as tensions boil over

A tense confrontation outside Newark's Delaney Hall immigration detention facility escalated Friday when a red sedan slowly drove into a line of protesters blocking a facility exit, pushing them backward until someone hurled an object that left two large shatter marks in the vehicle's front windshield.

Video shared on X by @Patrick_Nealis showed the car sitting for several minutes as protesters blocked the exit, then creeping forward, making contact with demonstrators and forcing them back. As the car advanced, protesters could be heard shouting, "That's blood money! You will reap what you sow!" Protesters appeared to presume the driver was a facility employee, though that has not been confirmed.

The confrontation took an uglier turn as the car pressed forward. "You're f—ing Spanish!" demonstrators screamed at the driver. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Friday's incident is the latest in a weeks-long standoff at Delaney Hall, a privately run facility with 1,000 beds operated by GEO Group under a $1 billion ICE contract. Protests erupted on May 22 after roughly 300 detainees launched a hunger and labor strike over alleged inhumane conditions — claims federal officials deny.

The demonstrations have grown increasingly volatile. ICE agents have fired pepper balls and tear gas at crowds, and state police moved in after Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill declared the situation "completely unacceptable." The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented at least 42 assaults on journalists covering the protests. Just Wednesday night, two more protesters were arrested after blocking vehicles at the facility entrance.

New Jersey filed suit against GEO Group, demanding that state health inspectors be granted access to the facility, with Newark threatening to expand its own separate lawsuit to push for closure.