Anti-ICE agitators clash with federal agents outside New Jersey detention center as tensions escalate
NEWARK, N.J. — Chaotic scenes intensified Thursday outside Delaney Hall, a federal immigration detention center as anti-ICE agitators clashed with federal agents amid escalating tensions over immigration enforcement and conditions inside. The protest crowd had swelled to more than 100 by 8 p.m. local time, as frequent clashes cropped up when unmarked federal vehicles approached to enter the center. As ICE agents appeared to swing on a fulcrum, some agitators refused to get out of the way — including one man who was dragged to the ground and detained just feet from where Fox News Digital was perched. An ICE agent could not confirm or deny whether detaining the civilian suspect portended potential criminal charges. ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS CLASH WITH AGENTS OUTSIDE NEW JERSEY DETENTION CENTER AS GOV. SHERRILL DENIED ENTRY The clashes at the privately operated detention center — which activists believe houses roughly 900 detainees — come after days of mounting protests, political backlash and confrontations between demonstrators and federal authorities. New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim, have criticized conditions at Delaney Hall, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused lawmakers and activists of fueling unrest and undermining ICE enforcement operations. Thursday evening, protesters blocked roads surrounding the facility as federal agents moved in and out of the area. At one point, an unmarked federal vehicle drove through the crowd, prompting a female agitator to accuse ICE agents of attempting to hit women demonstrators. One man was seen being detained during the chaos. When asked whether the detention would result in criminal charges, one ICE agent replied that he “can’t confirm,” though he said it politely, according to reports. PROTESTERS CLASH WITH ICE AS NJ DETENTION FACILITY DEMONSTRATIONS CONTINUE During another scuffle Thursday, an agitator who encroached was tossed to the ground by his shirt and another was pushed up against a truck that had gotten stuck in the melee. Four letter words abounded for a time and even a child and his father were shouting obscenities from a car parked across outside the facility. Police presence was again sparse, in line with Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s prior position against assisting immigration enforcement. Instead, an elderly agitator with a sign scrawled on the back of a CostCo box repeatedly admonished drivers for not sufficiently slowing down as they tried to pass the throng. Earlier this week, Sherrill and several members of Congress tried to enter the facility after reports that some detainees had begun a hunger strike. Sherrill was denied access and has since called for the detention center to be shut down. ANTI-ICE AGITATORS THROW WOODEN PALLETS, MATTRESSES AT FEDERAL AGENTS DURING CHAOTIC NJ DETENTION CENTER CLASH On Monday, agitators had blocked entrances by linking arms, sitting in roadways and forming a human chain to prevent ICE from entering or leaving the building. The clashes also intensified after Kim was allegedly struck by pepper-ball spray during an earlier protest. According to The Associated Press, the DHS said approximately six demonstrators were arrested Wednesday. DHS said those arrests stemmed from allegations that protesters assaulted law enforcement officers. The unrest also came as Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey on Thursday unveiled new statewide guidance outlining how schools, child care providers, colleges, healthcare facilities and places of worship should respond to interactions with federal immigration authorities. Speaking at a State House press conference in Boston, she said the guidance was to help organizations in the state protect access to services, understand their legal rights and prepare staff in the event U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrive onsite. “We will not allow violent rioters to slow ICE down. Law and order will be restored. There is no hunger strike at Delaney Hall at this time,” DHS said in a statement.
Kash Patel reveals FBI’s top security concerns ahead of World Cup
FBI Director Kash Patel revealed a slew of security concerns, including cyber threats, drones and the potential for lone-wolf attacks ahead of the World Cup, which will draw millions of visitors across North America. Officials are expecting three million people to visit for the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Out of the 104 total matches in the expanded 2026 World Cup, 78 games will be played in the U.S., while the remaining 26 will be split between its neighbors to the north and south. Host countries are aggressively ramping up security and intelligence operations to safely stage the much-anticipated soccer matches across 11 U.S. host cities. “It’s everything from traditional cop work going out to the streets, talking to communities and saying, ‘Hey, do you guys know of any bad actors? Have you heard of anyone that might want to do harm to people or venues?’” Patel told Fox News correspondent Brooke Taylor. “That’s our big security goal for us at the FBI.” US PREPARES FOR INFLUX OF INTERNATIONAL VISITORS AHEAD OF WORLD CUP WITH SECURITY AT THE FOREFRONT In an effort to foil any lone-wolf actors, the FBI has created a special operations center at its headquarters to centralize and analyze incoming data about potential threats. “When we’re talking about cyber actors, those [are ones] that come in and hack our infrastructure and hold data hostage for monetary payments. So we are taking all of that information to one place and centralizing, at least for us at the FBI, at our headquarters component,” Patel said. Patel added that outside of major nation-state adversaries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, lone-wolf threats pose the greatest concern to national security. ‘PEOPLE WOULD HAVE DIED’: INSIDE THE FBI’S HALLOWEEN TAKEDOWN THAT EXPOSED A GLOBAL TERROR NETWORK “Separate and apart from that, [those] who are doing similar activities, or the disparate actors, the lone wolves that are out there, whether it’s in the cyber realm or the violent crime realm,” he said. “So we are heavily relying on the community and state locals and asking them over and over again, ‘What are you seeing in the online spaces? What are you seeing in the chat groups?’” Law enforcement is also heavily focused on combating the online radicalization of individuals who may feel compelled to carry out domestic attacks, Patel noted. Drones are another top-tier anxiety for federal officials, given that they vary wildly in size and can be easily operated by a pilot far from the target location. FBI LEADER SAYS IT’S ‘CONCERNING’ HOW LITTLE HIS AGENCY KNOWS ABOUT MYSTERIOUS DRONES SEEN OVER NEW JERSEY “The critical component that we at the FBI have been focusing down on is teaching our state and local partners how we handle drones and how they can handle drones with us,” Patel said. “And then collectively, it’s a force multiplier to have thousands of people out there, tens of thousands of police officers out there looking at the drone threat that’s coming in as it comes in, because it’s so quick and dynamic.” To counter this, Patel revealed that the FBI has developed technology capable of disabling problem drones mid-flight, a tool they have shared with local law enforcement partners during recent specialized training programs. Among the immediate domestic threats the FBI is tracking is a sharp rise in antisemitic violence. Patel pointed to the recent Hezbollah-inspired attack at a Michigan synagogue, where a man packed his pickup truck with gasoline and commercial-grade fireworks, rammed it into the building, and opened fire with an assault rifle before taking his own life during a shootout with the temple’s private security team. In the 14 months since the Trump administration took office, the FBI has arrested more than 45,000 violent offenders in an aggressive push to dismantle clandestine sleeper cells and violent networks across the country. The bureau also touted its recent success rate in tracking down high-profile international targets. “The FBI have arrested eight of the top ten [most wanted fugitives] in the world in 14 months,” Patel said, noting that the figure marks twice as many major captures as the prior four years combined.