N.J. Governor Deploys State Police at ICE Facility After DHS Chief Threatens Newark Airport Customs Shutdown

NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill deployed state police Friday to restore order outside a federal immigration detention center in Newark, one day after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened to pull U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from Newark Liberty International Airport if the state did not act.

Mullin said May 29 that local law enforcement in New Jersey had not responded to requests for assistance at the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility, according to reporting reviewed by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He warned that if the situation continued, CBP personnel stationed at the airport could be reassigned to assist ICE officers at the facility.

"That may affect international flights coming in and out of their airport because I'm going to have to pull Customs and Border Protection officers out," Mullin said, in a statement reported by Live and Let's Fly.

Without customs officers on site, airlines cannot legally disembark international passengers, which would force arriving international flights to be canceled or diverted. Newark handled 24.5 million international passengers last year and is United Airlines' primary transatlantic hub, according to Live and Let's Fly.

Sherrill, a Democrat, announced Friday she would create protected protest zones around the facility to lower tensions. Mullin called the move "a win for law and order." But Sherrill also called the idea of pulling federal customs officials from the airport "completely ridiculous," citing the upcoming FIFA World Cup, according to Yahoo News.

The standoff drew immediate pushback. Seventeen travel, hotel and airline industry groups, including Airlines for America and U.S. Travel, urged DHS Friday to avoid any moves that would have "operational and economic consequences," according to Yahoo News. Two administration officials told reporters the proposal had also faced internal resistance.

Sherrill said Saturday that out-of-state actors had inflamed tensions at the protests. "Five of the six people arrested last night by state police were from outside New Jersey," she said, according to yourNEWS. State police said they arrested three additional people Saturday night during demonstrations.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, visited the facility Sunday morning with three members of New Jersey's congressional delegation. "The situation is unacceptable. Delaney Hall must be shut down immediately," Jeffries said, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that the level of tension in his state was unprecedented. "I've not seen my state with this level of precariousness through my entire time in elected office," Kim said, according to the Star-Advertiser.

Mullin defended conditions at the facility. "The detention facility in New Jersey is holding murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and serious criminals," he said, according to yourNEWS. Immigrant advocates, Sherrill and congressional Democrats have called the facility poorly run and described conditions as inhumane. DHS said in a statement Sunday that operations would "continue as normal."

Delaney Hall is a 1,000-bed facility operated by the private company GEO Group on behalf of ICE, according to the Star-Advertiser. Protests at the site accelerated after detainees launched a labor and hunger strike, according to CNN.

By Sunday, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka had imposed a nightly curfew in the half-mile area surrounding the facility, and state Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said state police had secured a "broader area than just outside Delaney Hall" for safety reasons, according to the Star-Advertiser.

No formal CBP withdrawal order had been issued as of Sunday. The standoff represents the first major test for Mullin, who became DHS secretary following weeks of crisis in Minneapolis, in managing conflict between federal officers and demonstrators in American cities, according to Yahoo News.

Sources cited:
- Honolulu Star-Advertiser (https://www.staradvertiser.com/2026/05/31/breaking-news/visits-to-restart-at-new-jersey-migrant-detention-center/)
- Yahoo News / Politico (https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fears-travel-chaos-flare-mullin-002526453.html)
- Live and Let's Fly (https://liveandletsfly.com/dhs-newark-customs-united-airlines-hub/)
- yourNEWS (https://yournews.com/2026/06/01/7019853/new-jersey-governor-says-out-of-state-protesters-escalating-tensions-at-ice/)
- CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/25/us/new-jersey-ice-facility-protests)