Manhunt under way after illegal aliens riot, escape from Newark ICE facility where Democrat allegedly assaulted federal agent

Illegal aliens held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in New Jersey where Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver (N.J.) allegedly assaulted an ICE officer last month rioted Thursday evening after their meals were reportedly delayed in coming.

While detainees destroyed property and in some cases escaped, leftist radicals outside descended on the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, swarmed federal agents, and tried to block the entrance to prevent additional officers from responding to the riot.

A hunt is now under way for several inmates who escaped during the riot.

Ras Baraka, Newark's radical Democratic mayor who was detained last month for trespassing at the same federal facility, said in a statement, "We are concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees."

Rather than criticize the violent foreign nationals for their revolt or his fellow travelers' efforts to impede law enforcement officers outside, Baraka instead railed about "local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights."

The detention center, located next to the Essex County Jail, is operated on behalf of ICE by the GEO Group, the largest private prison operator in the United States. The facility, which has over 1,000 beds, was reopened shortly after President Donald Trump retook office.

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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka outside the facility. Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

There was apparently need for the extra capacity, first because ICE officials reportedly regard New Jersey as a strategic area due to its proximity to major airports and New York City, and second because the existing facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, had only a few hundred beds.

The Department of Homeland Security indicated last month that the facility currently holds murderers, rapists, suspected terrorists, and gang members.

Among the illegal aliens taken to the facility and unwittingly championed by leftist protesters outside was Hugo Torre-Tomailla, a Peruvian wanted in his home country for the alleged rape of a minor. Jorge Luis Sanchez-Luna, a Mexican national also taken to the facility, was arrested for repeatedly raping his young daughter over the course of several years.

Around 6 p.m. on Thursday, an illegal alien at the ICE facility called a staff member at a hotline run by the outfit Deportation and Immigration Response Equipo, claiming that a gang of illegal aliens had begun to revolt over food conditions, reported the New York Times.

Ellen Whitt, a volunteer who works at the hotline, told the Times, "People were hungry and got very angry and started to react and started to rebel against what was going on in the detention center."

The detainee who called to complain indicated that his fellow inmates were trying to smash windows.

Mustafa Cetin, an immigration lawyer for one of the illegal aliens at the facility, told NJ Advance Media that around 50 detainees conspired to knock down a wall of a dormitory room when their meals did not arrive as quickly as they desired.

"Based on what he told me it was an outer wall, not very strong, and they were able to push it down," said Cetin.

WABC-TV reported that private security personnel attempted to gain control with the assistance of responding ICE agents; however, they lost track of multiple illegal aliens amid the chaos, four of whom could not immediately be accounted for.

A senior DHS official told Blaze News, "DHS has become aware of four detainees at the privately held Delaney Hall Detention Facility escaping. Additional law enforcement partners have been brought in to find these escapees, and a BOLO has been disseminated."

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Gate outside Delaney Hall. Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images

"We encourage the public to call 911 or the ICE Tip Line: 866-DHS-2-ICE if they have information that may lead to the locating of these individuals," added the official.

When pressed for comment, a spokesman for the GEO Group referred Blaze News to ICE for answers. ICE did not immediately respond to Blaze News' requests for comment.

As the riot raged inside, leftists tried to block ICE agents from entering and exiting the facility. Footage shared to X by the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice shows radicals barricading the gate outside Delaney Hall.

Police can be seen in another video dismantling the barricade and clearing an exit for law enforcement vehicles.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!