Democrats Resume Attacks on ICE and the Deportation System Overall

Protests involving members of Congress took place outside an ICE facility in New Jersey. The press joined in.

On Memorial Day, Democrats and left-wing activists staged a demonstration outside the Delaney Hall detention center for undocumented immigrants in New Jersey.

Governor Mikey Sherrill, Senator Cory Booker, Senator Andy Kim, and House members Rob Menendez, Nellie To, LaMonica McIver, Frank Pallone, and Analilia Maggia participated in the protests.

The protests were sparked by reports of a hunger strike at the detention center. Detainees began the action, ostensibly to protest inhumane conditions.

Whether the hunger strike actually occurred is unknown. Senator Cory Booker was the first to report the desperate protest on social media. The Department of Homeland Security denied this information, stating: “In fact, all detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, a shower, soap, and toiletries. Illegal immigrants also have access to telephones to contact their family members and attorneys. The quality of their meals is assessed by certified nutritionists. In fact, ICE has stricter detention standards than most U.S. prisons holding U.S. citizens.” This reminds me of a Soviet joke…

In any case, protesters blocked the entrance to the detention center, and ICE officers began to push them back quite harshly. Pepper spray was used. Congressman Andy Kim even received the spray. He even sought medical attention…

Mainstream media outlets have joined the new attacks on ICE. For example, the Associated Press conducted an investigation and reported on the growing number of suicides in detention centers for undocumented immigrants. According to the agency, at least ten detainees have committed suicide in custody in recent months.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security’s Combat Deportation Force, a Border Patrol tactical task force, have been decapitated and expelled from major cities. The border itself remains relatively closed, but mass deportations have stopped because the expedited deportation mechanism itself has been blocked.

Now, a crackdown is underway on the detention centers themselves for previously detained undocumented immigrants. An attempt to completely reverse immigration policy and even defund ICE, which was nearly achieved during the recent shutdown, can be expected in early 2027.