Protesters, leaders push back against DHS over Newark detention facility conditions

Activists allege Delaney Hall detainees are living in poor conditions.

Tensions continue to rise outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, as activists and Democratic leaders clash with the federal government over conditions there.

A hunger strike inside the 1,000-bed Delaney Hall detention center has been ongoing since Friday after detainees alleged they are not being well fed or provided sanitary living conditions, according to activists.

"They're given rotten frozen food, or in the case of last week, they found live worms in their food. We're also hearing of people being denied toilet paper," activist Catalina Adorno told New York ABC affiliate WABC on Tuesday.

Several protests have taken place outside the facility since the strike began, and ICE agents were filmed using pepper spray and batons against protesters who have gotten close to them, according to WABC.

The Department of Homeland Security has denied the allegations of a hunger strike and inhumane conditions inside Delaney Hall, which is currently holding 300 detainees. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday that there were "only a handful of individuals that was refusing to eat" because they allegedly wanted their "ethnic right food."

"Well, they can go back to their country and get whatever food they want," he told reporters. "The fact is, we're giving them the calories they want. This isn't Holiday Inn."

Activist groups and several New Jersey Democratic Congress members, including Rep. Rob Menendez Jr., and Sen. Andy Kim, have pushed back against DHS claims and have participated in protests since Friday.

Menendez and Kim went inside the Delaney Hall detention center Saturday after repeated asks and said they saw the poor conditions and treatment of detainees firsthand.

"These are not the people that Donald Trump keeps saying that they were trying to lock up. You know, there is a woman that was pregnant that says she's not getting full, OB-GYN care," said Kim, who has called for Delaney Hall to be shut down.

"There is a woman that had a miscarriage that said that she did not get the care that she needed and was left to be able to manage that on her own," he added.

Kim joined protesters again on Monday along with New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who said she was denied access to the facility multiple times over the past couple of weeks.

The governor spoke with some of the protesters, which included families of the detainees, and joined calls for the facility to be closed.

"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," Sherrill said in a statement Monday, in part.

"I have long opposed private detention facilities and will continue to advocate for the closure of Delaney Hall and against any expansion of mass detention facilities in New Jersey," the statement continued.

"I came today to hear from families and advocates, and what I heard from them was heartbreaking. I will continue to hold ICE accountable," the statement further said, adding that Sherrill would continue working with Menendez, Kim and others "to demand answers, protect constitutional rights, and ensure humane conditions."

"The people inside Delaney Hall are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, and members of our community. 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," the statement said.

Shortly after Sherrill left the rally on Monday, things became more tense between the protesters and federal agents. ICE agents deployed pepper spray and fired rubber bullets into the crowd as they clashed with agents, who were moving vehicles in and outside the facility, according to WABC.

Several people were hit with the spray including Kim, who was seen trying to de-escalate the situation.

"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," the senator said on social media Monday.

Mullin decried the Memorial Day protest and told reporters Wednesday that Congress members "probably shouldn't have been there."

Lauren Bis, DHS acting assistant secretary, accused the New Jersey lawmakers of conducting a "political stunt."

"We need these sanctuary politicians to stop peddling this garbage and cooperate with us to get these criminals out of their state," she said in a statement Monday.

The protests and clashes continue, with federal agents deploying pepper spray against protesters who formed a human barricade outside the facility.

Mullin alleged in a social media post Tuesday night that law enforcement agents were sprayed with "an unknown chemical substance."

"Two individuals were arrested for assaulting, resisting, and impeding federal officers," Mullin said.

Sherrill did not immediately have a comment about Mullin's claims.

Protesters showed up to Delaney Hall Wednesday but the demonstrations were peaceful as of the afternoon.

ABC News' Luke Barr contributed to this report.

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