‘We are not criminals’: protests erupt as hunger strike rocks New Jersey ICE jail

Protests against immigration enforcement at a facility where detainees are on a hunger and labor strike erupted in fresh violence on Tuesday night as federal officers sprayed chemicals and charged demonstrators outside the jail in New Jersey . Following hours of relative quiet, a day after masked and armored Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) personnel pepper-sprayed US senator Andy Kim , tension ramped up again outside the Delaney Hall facility on the fifth day of the strike. At one point on Tuesday evening, a protester who threw something at ICE officers was chased by dozens of officials, Tased and then carried into the jail. The Newark-based ICE facility is operated by GEO Group, one of the biggest private prison companies in the US. According to activists and detainees, between 300 and 400 detainees are participating in the strike, demanding improved food, ventilation and medical care – and for their immigration cases to proceed. The hunger and work strike and protests come as the Trump administration continues engaging in its controversial and increasingly unpopular, aggressive mass deportation campaign , targeting immigrants nationwide to detain and deport them. A letter from detainees was published by advocates on Tuesday morning. Two men recently released from Delaney confirmed in interviews with the Guardian their participation in the strike, despite denials by the Trump administration that any such strike is happening. …