US Officers Pepper-Spray Senator During Hunger Strike Support Visit

US Senator Andy Kim stated he was pepper-sprayed outside Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on Monday afternoon after visiting to support detainees on hunger strike.

The incident occurred on the same day New Jersey Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill said she was denied access to the facility.

Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, spoke of “chaos” at the facility and “lawless actions by the Trump administration” which he claims have led to poor conditions both inside and outside. He shared these comments with NorthJersey.com, part of the USA Today network, via telephone on Monday evening (25 May 2026) following the incident, which was also reported by several US media outlets.

The junior senator visited the facility to back detainees protesting treatment, including lack of air conditioning and fresh food, through a hunger strike that began last weekend.

US Senator Andy Kim (left) and Representative Rob Menendez Jr. called for the closure of the federal immigration detention centre at Delaney Hall on Saturday, 23 May, after visiting detainees on hunger strike there.

Kim described a “standoff” outside the ICE facility in New Jersey. To gain entry, he “personally called Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin to request intervention.”

Upon leaving the detention centre, Kim said he encountered a “standoff” as armed federal officers had deployed armoured vehicles and set up barricades to keep protesters away from the perimeter and entrance of Delaney Hall.

Kim stated that demonstrators “were lined up in front of them” and he “attempted to position himself between ICE officers and the crowd to de-escalate the situation.”

Representative Rob Menendez Jr. (left) and US Senator Andy Kim also called for the closure of the federal immigration detention centre at Delaney Hall on Saturday, 23 May, following their visit to hunger-striking detainees at the facility.