WYFF 4 reports that Mikie Sherrill is sending in state police to bring order outside an immigration detention center in Newark that has been the site of violent demonstrations and arrests in recent days.The Democrat announced Friday that police will create designated protest zones and set up vehicle checkpoints to regulate traffic outside Delaney Hall as clashes between protesters and federal immigration enforcement officials have intensified."It has grown unsafe, and that's completely unacceptable," Sherrill said at a news conference along with other state officials.
"We need to take this opportunity to lower the temperature."Spokespersons for the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security and the GEO Group, the private firm that runs the facility, didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.The protests began last Friday after immigrant advocates said detainees inside launched a hunger strike over poor living conditions at the 1,000-bed facility, which opened last May.Demonstrators have been attempting to block people and vehicles from entering and exiting the building.
They have linked arms in a human chain and used trash cans, umbrellas and other materials as makeshift shields and barricades.U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wearing helmets and tactical vests have used pepper spray and batons to try and disperse the protesters and clear the roadway for vehicles.At least six demonstrators were arrested for assaulting law enforcement officers Wednesday night, and more have been arrested on other nights of the protests, DHS has said.Acting U.S.
Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday shared images of some of the bloody wounds and bruises sustained by ICE officers."These riots are clearly not 'peaceful protests' as you can see from the photos of these horrific wounds," he wrote in a social media post.