Revolutionary-left activist organizations, including out-of-state socialist groups boasting ample funding, are behind the disruptive demonstrations at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.
Organizers of the anti-deportation protests outside Delaney Hall have portrayed the mobilization efforts as grassroots and spontaneous, but a network of self-described communist factions based across the country is fueling the unrest.
The Democratic Socialists of America, the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, Speak Out Socialist, Refuse Fascism, Freedom Road Socialists Organization, Freedom Socialist Party, and the Black Panthers are among the far-left groups, with chapters nationwide, stoking the flames both online and at Delaney Hall.
For instance, Refuse Fascism has been rallying since May to close down Delaney Hall, as well as all U.S. immigration processing centers, urging that the “Trump Regime Has Gotta Fall!” Inspired by regime changes abroad, Refuse Fascism is committed to ousting the Trump administration through mass political protests, as its fiscal sponsor, a well-funded charity closely aligned with socialist regimes from Latin America, wants to bring about “revolutionary change in the United States.” The Washington Examiner contacted Refuse Fascism for comment.
Organizations part of the covert collection, dubbed the “Delaney Hall 100,” circulate their marching orders over secretive Signal chats, instructing comrades to descend on Delaney Hall, according to a Fox News investigation.
“We should be very concerned about the Delaney Hall 100,” nonprofit expert Chuck Flint told Fox News. “Protests like the kind we’re seeing outside Delaney Hall are not organic protests. These are manufactured strategic, calculated endeavors by an army of nonprofits meant to push subversive activity. These groups generate annual revenues greater than many of the cities in which they protest. They act like military battalions with the ability to overwhelm a city’s public safety resources.”
Activists at the scene were seen in recent weeks chanting “Communist Revolution!” while disseminating radical literature that said “Long Live Communism!” and “No Papers, No Borders, No Bosses.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested dozens of agitators for allegedly assaulting officers guarding Delaney Hall and blocking police vehicles from entering the premises. According to booking records, some of the arrestees are out-of-towners who traveled from faraway states, including Colorado, Illinois, and Washington, to take part in the protests.
White House border czar Tom Homan said that most of the Delaney Hall demonstrators engaging in violent and obstructive tactics are not New Jersey residents. “These are paid protesters,” Homan told Fox & Friends last week. “We’ve got facial recognition of people from Portland … and many from Minnesota.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called the alleged provocateurs “well-organized” and “well-supplied.” On-the-ground photographs, showing stockpiles of gas masks, hard hats, and food, indicate that the activists are running a highly organized supply operation.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) has even acknowledged that “national extremist groups” have infiltrated the protests to incite political violence, warning out-of-state actors that their criminal actions are endangering the detainees held inside Delaney Hall.
“To the people coming from out of state to create chaos and dangerous situations: you should not be here,” Sherrill said. “You are not helping the people detained at Delaney Hall.”
In response to Sherrill telling activist organizers to “turn down the temperature,” DSA’s New Jersey chapter and the Climate Revolution Action Network of New Jersey declared, “We’re going to turn up the noise.”
Of the more local groups leading the resistance, the Palestine Solidarity Working Group, a New York City offshoot of the DSA, has invoked rioting imagery to call on its members to protest in front of Delaney Hall.
PSWG has been directing its “cadre of revolutionary socialists” to appear nightly at Delaney Hall since Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) lifted the city’s curfew and rolled back crowd-control measures. Immediately following the mayor’s announcement, which removed designated “free speech zone” barriers around Delaney Hall, PSWG told followers, “CURFEW IS OVER: ALL OUT TO DELANEY TONIGHT, 8PM.” The social media alert contained pictures of militants in riot gear facing off against Monmouth County’s rapid-response deployment force.
In its latest call to action, PSWG circulated a digital flyer featuring an image of fire in the streets lining Delaney Hall. The promotional graphic depicted a burning barricade that was set ablaze near the detention center during a declared riot on May 30.
Screenshots of leaked Signal chats show anti-ICE activists involved in the Delaney Hall standoff requesting that PSWG provide “jail support” for arrested rioters. The Immigration Coalition, one of the other organizations mentioned in the Signal messages as a source of bail money, closely works with PSWG and similar groups in the area to coordinate protest activity.
In addition to legal defense funds, the coalition distributes riot supplies, such as industrial-grade respirators, pepper spray wipes, and makeshift armor. The coalition’s stated mission is to free all illegal immigrants detained at Delaney Hall. The Washington Examiner contacted PSWG for comment.
Make the Road New Jersey, another nearby immigration-focused group, has been involved in activist organizing at Delaney Hall long before the past month’s struggle session.
Seeking to “abolish ICE and free everyone from Delaney Hall,” Make the Road NJ is the New Jersey affiliate of Make the Road States, which has operations in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and New York. All of its chapters are fiscally sponsored by the Center for Popular Democracy, which itself receives funding from left-wing philanthropic foundations.
Make the Road NJ’s legal assistance arm represents illegal immigrants facing deportation proceedings. Its immigrant legal aid work is financed, in part, by taxpayer funds under the auspices of the state government’s Detention and Deportation Defense Initiative.
Earlier this month, Sherrill announced a $12 million increase in funding for the program, which partners with pro bono legal service providers, such as Make the Road NJ, to offer free representation to illegal immigrants at risk of removal from the United States.
The governor’s office said the increased funding is intended to help detained immigrants, specifically Delaney Hall detainees, “resist unconstitutional immigration detention and enforcement by the Trump administration.” Make the Road NJ celebrated the news, saying, “This is one of the strongest investments the state can make to defend people’s rights under a fascist regime.”
Make the Road NJ has also received $270,000 in government grant money over the years from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development by way of the Cultivating Access, Rights, and Equity Program. Grant recipients work to increase access to New Jersey’s employee benefits, “regardless of immigration status.”
The Washington Examiner contacted Make the Road NJ for comment.