On May 9, 2025, things got heated at the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Local officials and Democrat members of Congress, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez Jr., joined a protest outside the ICE facility. What started as a demonstration quickly crossed the line when several of them entered the building without permission — leading to their arrest for trespassing.
Homeland Security says they were warned. They didn’t listen.
Today, Democrat officials riotously stormed and invaded an ICE facility to secure the release of the following criminals and terrorists here illegally: https://t.co/j0Dk8pj4Z2
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) May 9, 2025
What Actually Happened?
According to DHS officials, Baraka and the congressional delegation ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations agents and unlawfully entered the secure ICE facility.
The protest centered around claims that Delaney Hall was operating without proper permits — claims that DHS called “completely false.”
And the people being detained? Not just folks overstaying visas.
According to DHS, among the detainees were MS-13 gang members and a homicide suspect wanted in Brazil.
Who’s Really Being Protected?
While Democrat officials say they were standing up for “oversight” and immigrant rights, critics say they crossed a dangerous line — not just legally, but morally.
Former Trump advisor Stephen Miller didn’t hold back. He called the event a “riotous storming” of a secure federal facility designed to detain dangerous criminals.
Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver: “God d*mn it, shut down the city! We are at war!”
This is the DEI Democrat who forced her way into the ICE detention center and assaulted multiple ICE agents in New Jersey earlier today. pic.twitter.com/7ySy1MzLIb
— Proud Elephant (@ProudElephantUS) May 9, 2025
MS-13 Is No Joke
This isn’t fear-mongering — it’s fact.
MS-13 has a long, violent history in the U.S. In 2017 alone, ICE arrested 267 MS-13 gang members in a major bust known as Operation Raging Bull.
These aren’t harmless migrants looking for a better life — these are violent criminals who have terrorized communities across the country.
So when federal officials say Delaney Hall was housing gang members and a known homicide fugitive, it’s worth taking seriously.
The idea that sitting members of Congress and a mayor would interfere with those operations raises serious concerns.
The Political Theater of “Oversight”
Supporters of the protest, including The Guardian, framed the event as a “non-violent sit-in.”
They say the lawmakers were simply exercising oversight and holding ICE accountable. But there’s a big difference between holding a hearing — and physically entering a detention center and disrupting operations.
There’s also the issue of local versus federal authority.
Immigration enforcement is a federal job, not something city councils or mayors can override.
Echoes of the Bigger Fight
There’s a familiar pattern: Democrats and the media rush to defend individuals who may be breaking the law, while Republicans try to uphold the law and protect the public — and are painted as the bad guys for doing it.
That’s backwards.
At the end of the day, this wasn’t just a protest. It was a direct confrontation with federal law enforcement.
And it sends a dangerous message: that elected officials can bend the rules if they don’t like the outcome.
Immigration laws exist for a reason. So do ICE detention centers.
When those holding public office actively interfere in immigration enforcement — especially involving violent offenders — they’re not protecting rights. They’re risking public safety.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
