Is screaming at ICE agents an effective way of protesting?
Let me make it easy for you: No.
Primal hollering is inflammatory and in many cases makes things worse. But you already knew that, didn’t you?
Your goal as a protestor shouldn’t be to “win” in the street against a wall of polycarbonate. The best supported research suggests that nonviolent demonstrations work best by making the issue broadly understandable to neutral or hesitant Americans. First of all, you want to have clear demands. “FUCK ICE” seems to have caught on as a slogan tied to political identity–Maybe you can find that on a coffee mug at Spencer’s gifts. The slogan immediately signals pure rage and doesn’t propose anything.
Two words: “NO KINGS”, on the other hand, is constitutional, simpler, and more agreeable to the average person. “NO KINGS” proposes an actual, attainable goal with a clear direction. The logic behind it is broad and peaceful, tied to legitimate concerns like executive overreach, immigration enforcement, war, and cost of living. The difference in tone is one reason why No Kings demonstrations have become so populous. The low entry barrier makes it easy for ordinary Americans to show up without feeling like they’re endorsing chaos.
Physically interfering with agents like blocking vehicles or using air horns moves away from symbolic protest and more toward direct disruption. Technically, direct disruption has its moments of effectiveness; there’s a time and a place. But in everyday circumstances, it’s less effective if it looks chaotic, fringe, or unsafe to bystanders.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on X where someone apparently took a bite out of an ICE agent’s arm in the scuffle. (Remember: Innocent until proven guilty!)
Let me also distinguish leftist demonstrators practically in their defense–We should really be categorizing them, if at all, by method and not just ideology. The broader “left” protesters are just ordinary activists as American as the rest of us: clubs, students, union members, community organizers or faith groups conducting lawfully. These aren’t televised as much.
Jonathan Haidt in his book The Coddling of the American Mind references something similar to this when discussing protests on university campuses… Something about using loud noises to keep opposing views from being heard. Some activists try to deny speech by making it physically impossible to hear: air horns, banging pots, screaming through megaphones, and so on. That’s not really disagreement; it’s cancelling—it’s disruption. Haidt’s concern is that acting this way makes people think opposing views are voices to be silenced instead of arguments to be answered. Here, civil political intrigue boils over into a violent, full-fledged panic attack.
How did the protests at Delaney Hall start?
Detainees within Delaney Hall, an immigrant detention facility, are alleging substandard conditions: spoiled or expired food infested with maggots, delayed or denied medical care, some people being left with vomiting and intense pain, and wage exploitation for work: 1$ or 2$/hour. People inside were refusing to eat, so they went on a hunger strike. People outside were able to find out through attorneys and advocacy groups, and later general news media coverage. The labor/hunger strikes started around May 22, 2026. The strikes were first reported by the attorneys and allies (e.g., American Friends Service Committee, ACLU). New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill and Senator Vinny Kim then attempted to visit, noted a few conditions (milk congealed in cartons) and then announced their observations publicly. Family members were the first to show up and protest, then the rest followed.
Are the allegations true?
Detention centers aren’t exactly the Hampton Inn. They’re private. THEY’RE TRYNA BUILD A PRISON! THEY’RE TRYNA BUILD A PRISON! Remember that song?
The state tried to send its own health officials to inspect the area, but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and GEO (the private company that owns Delaney Hall) said “No no no!” They’ve only allowed partial inspections. New Jersey investigators are saying they did find spoiled food, but they were only allowed to examine the kitchen area. DHS and GEO are saying… take a guess. They’re claiming federal oversight is sufficient. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin (Trump-appointed guy that replaced Kristi Noem) publicly denied that there is a hunger strike going on at all.
DHS does have its own investigators, so it’s defensible that it would block full access; however, if DHS and GEO actually allowed independent investigation, the question could be answered plainly. The complaints are mainly coming from detainees and attorneys. These are substantial allegations but not facts with evidence.
How different is this from regular detention care, anyway? Jail isn’t meant to be comfortable, but it is supposed to provide basic nutrition, sanitation, and medical evaluation. ICE-facing sources say Delaney Hall gets all these things, and satisfactory at that–That’s the baseline standard anyone would expect in detention. The allegations are focused on substandard care, not that the detainees are just uncomfortable.
Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of substandard care in private detention facilities. Actually, ICE facilities have a history of harmful conditions, and it’s been a problem even before Trump. It’s gotten more severe since his second term because detention has expanded but oversight has not. It’s like forcing a whole lot of traffic down a dirt road without widening or repairing it.
Delaney Hall in particular is getting all the attention because it’s one of the bigger ICE facilities. Local and state officials are struggling to get access because federal and private institutions are blocking them from conducting a full investigation inside, and the alleged hunger strike also gave them a story to go off of. It suggests people inside are reacting to conditions rather than people rioting outside and complaining.
How is DHS keeping state investigators out?
They don’t have guards physically blocking them out of the building. Instead there are procedural barriers. The reporting process requires notice, appointments, and advance coordination. The question is about who has legal authority to see what, so the investigators’ escort was quite limited.
Detention centers are particularly weird when it comes to jurisdiction since they are jointly operated by federal authority, private contracting, and state/local regulation. The federal government can use this ambiguity to their advantage by manipulating oversight of the other groups.
I wonder if state investigators would be fired or prosecuted for evading supervision of the escorts and admitting “Whoops, haha! I was looking for the bathroom,” and then reporting their observations of other areas of the facility they would otherwise not be allowed access. Probably not for that alone. The more likely consequence is being escorted out now as a private citizen since their jurisdiction ends at the door frame. Where they lawfully investigate is fair game, so the smartest move is to demand the right to inspect.
Relevance of the clashes outdoors
While the governor hopes the focus should be on the problem inside the building, most of what we see on network television is what’s going on outside. The causes of the hunger strike seem to be covered in more detail by independent news sources as I cited the earlier video from Scripps News. The front-facing side of the problem, based on major network news, is the outdoor clash itself, while the underlying problem seems to go underdiscussed.
As shown in the video from Forbes, New Jersey State Police were later deployed to enforce the curfew and manage the crowd–Now you’re not just fighting ICE agents. Protesters are drawing their friendly neighborhood police away from keeping the rest of the city safe. (Although for a city the size of Newark, this is more localized.)
If the protesters’ goal is to draw attention to the issue, they do a better job of promoting the “FUCK ICE” identity rather than elucidating the institutional neglect happening in our immigrant detention centers. Let me be clear: This whole issue isn’t about party alignment, it’s about effective policy and accountability. Like if there are potholes in the road, the solution is to stay calm and report it using the resources made available to you. A police officer flipping the flag on their vest won’t ever solve anything. Send a repairman.
BUH–