A US senator was tear-gassed amid chaotic protests outside an ICE facility on Monday after the state's governor was denied entry in what the Department of Homeland Security called 'a political stunt.'  

Protesters have hounded Delaney Hall in Newark for days amid a hunger and labor strike launched by hundreds of detainees inside, according to reports.

The facility has been a point of controversy during the second Trump administration, with multiple Democratic politicians demanding its closure over concerns of poor conditions. 

The migrants claim that they have been served beans and salad with worms inside, have been placed in crowded rooms without air conditioning and have had their immigration cases ignored by federal judges, the New Jersey Monitor reported. Some have been there for a year.

Governor Mikie Sherrill and Senator Andy Kim, alongside several members of the state's Democratic-heavy Congressional delegation, showed up to the building on Monday demanding answers. 

While Kim was allowed in the building, shortly after, he was hit by pepper balls shot out by federal agents at the anti-ICE activists.

'What we saw here is unfortunately just what we see all over the country,' Kim told NJ.com, adding that he had trouble breathing.

Kim - who said earlier Monday the facility should be shut down 'immediately' - said before the melee broke out that he was trying to get the agents to stop pointing guns at protesters and broker a truce that would allow immigration activists to inspect cars leaving the facility. 

'It's sad, it's a sad day,' he added.

When contacted by the Daily Mail, Kim spoke in somewhat general terms about what he witnessed during his oversight visit.  

'I saw chaos inside and outside of the ICE detention center, Delaney Hall, today. Detainees protesting the lack of due process, the disgusting food and poor treatment while their families and advocates stood outside calling for help,' he said. 

'Instead of engaging with me and others about the poor conditions, ICE sent in an armored vehicle and a line of armed agents that only poured gasoline on the fire. Civilians were tackled and restrained, and agents fired pepper balls and spray into the crowd. This is more of the same lawlessness we've seen elsewhere around the country.'

Kim demanded 'accountability' from the Trump administration and a closure to the facility, which he called a 'failure.' 

'Delaney Hall is a failure; it's this administration's failure. The only way to make this right for our communities is to shut it down and make sure the failures we've seen never happen again.'

A DHS spokesman told the Daily Mail that 'no individuals were directly struck by pepper ball projectiles.'

They said that rioters were obstructing federal agents from getting out of Delaney Hall and had given multiple legal commands to clear the area.

When they refused, the DHS claimed officers 'followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public, and federal property.'

'The First Amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.

'We remind the public that rioting is dangerous - obstructing law enforcement is a federal crime and assaulting law enforcement is a felony.'

A spokesman for Governor Sherill told the Daily Mail that she spoke to Kim earlier Monday evening and criticized the treatment by federal agents. 

'He is a sitting US Senator with a right to oversight of this federal facility, and he should be able to freely access it without being harmed,' Steve Sigmund said.  

Earlier in the day, Sherrill expressed outrage at being denied entry to the facility. 

Sherrill, who has also demanded that the facility be closed, said that Homeland Security's denial of access suggests they are hiding something. 

'My request for access to Delaney Hall was formally denied this morning, raising serious questions about what they are trying to hide from public view,' she said.

She added that she spent the day speaking with family members of those detained who described conditions that were 'heartbreaking.' 

'The people inside Delaney Hall are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and members of our community,' she said. 

'In New Jersey, we believe in the rule of law and that everyone deserves to be treated with basic dignity. We have a duty to safeguard the rights, health, and well-being of everyone within our borders.' 

A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to the Daily Mail that Senator Kim was allowed into Delaney Hall 'to conduct his congressional oversight responsibilities.'

However, they slammed Governor Sherrill for allegedly making a difficult day for ICE and the facility even worse.  

'Governor Sherrill's visit to Delaney Hall is nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day when visitation is currently suspended due to riots outside the facility,' the spokesman told the Daily Mail. 

They added that on Sunday, around 125 protesters surrounded the facility, 'many carrying anti-ICE signs and Antifa flags' and blocked all entries and exits.

The spokesman defended the treatment of those detained at the detention facility. 

'All detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries,' adding that dieticians evaluate those meals.

The spokesman also said that those detained can communicate with family members and lawyers and called the conditions better than most American prisons.  

'It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. For many illegal aliens, this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.'

Last year, Democrat Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was indicted over a brawl with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside the same detention facility.

McIver, who was among the New Jersey representatives at the facility on Monday, was slapped with federal charges alleging she impeded and interfered with immigration officers as they sought to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

The Congresswoman, who announced last week that she's pregnant with her second child, is currently appealing a federal judge's refusal to dismiss those charges. Her next court date is set for June 23.    

Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility along an industrial stretch of Newark Bay, opened May 1 last year, according to the private prison company that operates the center. 

The Trump administration's announcement of its opening came amid a headline-grabbing crackdown on immigration around the country and as it ramped up its efforts to deport certain immigrants.

The situation is playing out in Newark and in federal court as the mayor litigates against the company running the facility. 

The city said it should not be open yet because of building permit issues. 

The conflict underscores the divide between what Trump views as an election mandate to deport people not lawfully in the US, and Democratic officials who question the administration's methods as well as the necessity of cracking down.

The gray, two-story building next to a county prison operated as a halfway house before a February 2025 announcement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that it and the GEO Group, which runs Delaney Hall, reached a $1 billion, 15-year deal for a detention center there.

The new facility sparked pushback from immigrant rights groups and the mayor in particular. 

Baraka sued GEO Group soon after the deal between the company and ICE was announced. 

He said at the time, the facility lacked the proper city permits in order to open, including a certificate of occupancy.

Florida-based GEO Group said the mayor is politicizing the situation and that city officials did not object when the Obama administration operated the facility as an ICE processing center.

Christopher Ferreira, a company spokesman, said via a statement that the facility is creating 'hundreds of unionized jobs, with an average annual salary of $105,000, and is expected to contribute $50 million to the local Newark economy.'

In legal filings, the company has argued that the city lacks legal standing to seek a preliminary injunction based on the 'purported violations of city codes.'