Two people familiar with the visit tell NBC News U.S. Border czar Tom Homan ate a meal over the weekend at Newark’s Delaney Hall, where ongoing protests over detainees’ food and treatment have prompted fiery law enforcement clashes and a mandatory nightly curfew.
Homan showed up at the facility, New Jersey’s largest ICE detention center, unannounced on Saturday, and ate at the same time as detainees, so he got the same food and the same portions, the two sources tell NBC News.
One source told NBC News that Homan described the food as “fine,” and reported nothing wrong with it. Neither said what he ate.
Crowds started to gather outside the federal facility, New Jersey’s largest ICE detention center, more than a week ago, protesting what they allege is inedible food, horrid conditions, and inadequate access to medical care. It came as Democratic members of Congress said they observed a dire situation within the center.
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, a Manhattan Democrat, said detainees at Delaney Hall in Newark are being given small portions of food that “very often” contain maggots and that the only medication they receive is Tylenol.
Protests escalated as Memorial Day weekend kicked off Friday night. Officials say people started setting tires and chairs on fire in the streets, throwing makeshift projectiles, and weaponizing police shields.
A WNBC reporter and her photojournalists, who were covering the ongoing protests, were ordered out of their news van and stepped into a cloud of tear gas. There was a standoff in the streets.
Saturday, the day the sources told NBC News that Homan visited, saw some of the largest crowds yet, as both protesters and counter-protesters, particularly members of the Proud Boys, clashed outside the facility.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka ordered the curfew late Saturday night following back-to-back nights of clashes between protesters and State Police, recently assigned to the facility by Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
It covers the half-mile area around Delaney Hall. The escalating response from local officials comes after Sherrill ordered State Police to establish designated protest zones in the name of public safety.
Multiple arrests have been made since the protests started..
There have been no reports of serious injuries.
Under the curfew announced this weekend, Doremus Avenue, the main road running alongside the facility, is closed to “pedestrian traffic” every night starting at 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. the next morning, according to the mayor. Vehicle access will also be limited to people with “official business” in the area.
