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Full visitation rights are expected to resume at an embattled immigration detention center in New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced on social media.Delaney Hall, a privately run immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, will once again welcome visitors, following more than a week of clashes between law enforcement officers and protestors, as well as a hunger strike among some of the center's detainees."Update: DHS has met our demand to restore family visitation," Sherrill posted to X on May 31. "Starting today, limited visitation will resume at noon, and regular visitation hours will be restored beginning tomorrow."The governor said that "families should contact the facility directly for additional details," adding, "law enforcement will help escort families into the facility. It is critical that outside actors allow this to happen safely."Newark mayor imposes curfewNews of the visitations comes shortly after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka imposed a curfew that applies to a half-mile area around Delaney Hall, which is in effect from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET, until further notice."Due to the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention, immediate action is required to protect public safety," Baraka wrote in a news release. "Multiple individuals have already been arrested and found in possession of weapons, underscoring the seriousness of the threat."The curfew comes two days after state police erected fencing for a "protest zone," which some see as a violation of free speech, according to reporting from NorthJersey.com, part of the USA TODAY Network.DHS says it didn't 'cave' to pressureIn an email sent to USA TODAY, the Department of Homeland Security pushed back against any characterization that suggests the agency "caved" to Sherrill’s demands.DHS said that visitations were suspended during the ongoing protests, citing safety concerns for law enforcement officers, detainees’ families, and their lawyers.According to DHS, now that a perimeter around the facility is secure, visitations can resume.Tensions escalate outside Delaney HallFor more than a week, tensions have escalated at Delaney Hall as advocates outside protest conditions, some detainees inside forego food in protest, and officials called in New Jersey police.Outside the facility’s gates, there have been clashes between federal immigration officials and demonstrators. While protests have occurred since Delaney Hall reopened months into the second Trump administration, demonstrations have escalated after detainees launched a hunger strike over Memorial Day weekend.The Department of Homeland Security has denied that a hunger strike is taking place at Delaney Hall, which is run by the private prison firm GEO Group.Among the clashes, federal prosecutors have accused one protester of kicking and biting federal agents, while other arrests have been reported. Meanwhile, a statement from the ACLU of New Jersey said most protests have been peaceful, and it's law enforcement that is escalating tensions.Recently, Sherrill deployed New Jersey State Police to the area outside Delaney Hall. She said she had to protect public safety and avoid escalation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which she said had surged in the area.According to reporting from NorthJersey.com, federal immigration officers have charged at crowds, wielded batons, and fired pepper spray into crowds. DHS has blamed protesters for escalating the standoffs, saying they threw objects at officers.Sen. Andy Kim says he was pepper-sprayed outside Delaney HallDelaney Hall earned significant media attention after Sen. Andy Kim, a Democrat who represents New Jersey, said he was pepper-sprayed outside the facility on May 25. At the time, he was visiting in support of the detainees who were mounting a hunger strike protest.Sherrill also attempted to visit the facility that same day but was denied entry.In her statement announcing the resumption of visitations, Sherrill urged DHS to implement several more policy shifts."I continue to call on DHS to provide appropriate care and medicine for all detainees, give detainees a meaningful opportunity to review their cases, stop pressuring detainees into signing deportation documents, be transparent about who is being held in this facility, and ultimately close this facility," she said.Contributing: N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; Michael Karas, NorthJersey.com; Lucas Frau, Nicholas Katzban, Katie Sobko, and Manahil Ahmad, NorthJersey.comDrew Pittock covers national trending news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at DPittock@usatodayco.com.
