Trump Says New Jersey ICE Protesters Were Paid
President Donald Trump weighed in Wednesday on the protests outside the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, and he did not sound impressed. During a cabinet meeting, Trump dismissed the demonstrators as fake and said the scene was being driven by outside money, not real public outrage.
“It’s all paid-for protesters. You can see by the signs,” Trump said. “These aren’t protesters. These people are fake. They’re all paid for.”
Trump also defended the work being done at the facility and said ICE is dealing with dangerous detainees. “We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type, but we have some horrible killers. We have killers, we have guys that have murdered numerous people in there, and these are the people they’re trying to protect. There’s nobody that runs a facility like we do.”
The protests drew even more attention after several New Jersey Democrats showed up at the scene on Memorial Day, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim. Sen. Markwayne Mullin hit back hard, saying the lawmakers were standing with chaos instead of law enforcement and focusing on the wrong side of the issue.
Mullin also pushed back on reports that detainees inside the facility were on a hunger strike. He said only a small number of people were refusing meals and tied the issue to food preferences. “Well, they can go back to their country and get whatever food they want.”
Outside the facility, tensions spiked as protesters reportedly tried to block vehicles and disrupt operations. Sen. Andy Kim said he came into contact with a chemical irritant used to break up the crowd, and Mullin responded with a blunt line: “I’m sorry. You probably shouldn’t have been there,” he said.
The clash has turned Delaney Hall into the latest flashpoint in the fight over immigration enforcement. Supporters of ICE say the agency is trying to keep control of a dangerous situation and protect its staff. Critics say the response was too aggressive and the protest was a reaction to how detainees are being treated. Either way, the confrontation is now part of a bigger national battle over borders, detention, and who is willing to show up when the cameras are rolling.
The exchange was captured on video.