Leftists outside an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey, instigated a confrontation with a garbage truck driver on Wednesday night after blocking the road during a protest related to a detainee hunger strike.
A video shared on social media shows the visibly frustrated driver exiting his truck and confronting protesters after his vehicle was stopped near Delaney Hall, the immigration facility.
“What’s wrong with y’all? I have kids!” the driver shouted at the anti-ICE demonstrators. “If I hit y’all, I go to jail!”
🚨 HOLY CRAP! A garbage truck driver absolutely LOST IT on anti-ICE rioters in Newark for BLOCKING him from driving down the road
“I’VE GOT KIDS! If I hit ya’ll, I GO TO JAIL!”
Then the rioters started FIGHTING each other in front of the truck
We’re dealing with some HORRIBLE… pic.twitter.com/OiSfhvurne
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 28, 2026
The Daily Wire reached out to the truck driver’s employer for comment but did not receive a response.
The protests escalated in recent days following confrontations between demonstrators and federal immigration authorities. Videos across social media show ICE agents being threatened and physically confronted outside the facility.
Independent journalist Cam Higby posted a video on X showing a protester grabbing and repeatedly pulling on his keffiyeh while he was attempting to document the demonstrations.
🚨 Newark ICE rioter just repeatedly choked me out with my own Keffiyeh. This comes just after I confronted Congressmen Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman.
They all mobbed me as I asked questions. pic.twitter.com/h1Gq3dtyix
— Cam Higby 🇺🇸 (@camhigby) May 27, 2026
The protests intensified after roughly 300 detainees inside Delaney Hall reportedly began a hunger strike on May 22, citing poor living conditions, malnutrition, and lack of sufficient medical care.
Several Democratic members of Congress, including Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) — who once called for the abolition of ICE — have toured the facility, describing the conditions as inadequate or inhumane.
While several of them have been given tours of the facility, they all have yet to release any photos or video footage of the inside corroborating their story.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security denied allegations of substandard conditions within the facility. DHS reaffirmed that detainees are provided three meals a day, have proper amenities, medical and dental care, and access to 24-hour emergency treatment.
Delaney Hall, operated by the GEO Group, opened as an immigration detention center in 2011 during the Obama administration. The facility closed in 2017 before reopening in 2025 under a reported $1 billion federal contract that expanded capacity to nearly 1,200 beds.
President Donald Trump addressed the situation during his Wednesday Cabinet meeting.
“These aren’t protesters; these people are fake, they’re all paid for,” Trump said. “We run the finest facilities anywhere in the world — of their type.”
Protests at Delaney Hall have persisted for more than a year. Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trespassing on May 9, 2025. According to NBC, the charges were later dropped, and former interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba subsequently offered him a tour of the center.
Baraka later sued Habba, claiming violations of his Fourth Amendment rights.
According to the lawsuit, a security guard initially allowed Baraka onto the property to help calm the protestors outside. Special Agent Ricky J. Patel, in charge of the Newark division of Homeland Security investigations, eventually instructed Baraka to leave the premises. Baraka claims more than a dozen federal agents spontaneously approached him and members of Congress, detaining him without probable cause.
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