While Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka has blamed the Trump administration for a breakout Thursday night at a local ICE detention center, New Jersey GOP leader Kenny Gonzalez criticized Baraka and the Democratic Party, saying they have been sowing "chaos" across the country that emboldens criminal illegals and violent rioters. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images and Stephanie Keith for Fox News Digital)
"It’s about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive, and it turned violent," Cetin said.
He added that his client reported the wall was "not very strong" and described detainees hanging bedsheets in what may have been an escape attempt. The client also said he smelled gas during the incident.
To add to the chaos, at approximately 9 p.m., a group of protesters blocked an SUV from exiting an ancillary gate at Delaney Hall, forcing it to back into the facility.
PIX11 News reported that the escapees were seen running near Turnpike 78 and Delancey Street.
ICE OFFICERS ASSAULTED DURING RAID THAT NABBED 70 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AT MEAT PLANT: DHS
Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, speaks after exiting a courthouse May 15, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
In response to the breakout, Baraka said his office was "concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees."
Baraka criticized the federal government, saying, "This entire situation lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail, including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights.
"This is why city officials and our congressional delegation need to be allowed entry to observe and monitor and why private prisons pose a very real problem to our state and its Constitution," he added. "We demand immediate answers and clear communication with the GEO Group and the Department of Homeland Security. We must put an end to this chaos and not allow this operation to continue unchecked."
Gonzalez, however, said Baraka and Democratic leaders across the country should bear the blame for the breakout.
MOTHER OF MURDERED JOGGER SLAMS REP. CROCKETT FOR DISMISSING MIGRANT CRIME VICTIMS
Protesters attempt to block a vehicle from leaving the Delaney Hall Detention Facility during protests over federal immigration enforcement raids Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)
"We just pray that it doesn't get to the point where President Trump has to do what he did in LA by mobilizing the National Guard. We hope that we can get things under control," Gonzalez said. "Delaney Hall is definitely going to be a target of all those protests tomorrow. And we definitely don't want to see that."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Gonzalez criticized Baraka and other Democratic leaders for having an ideology by which "they see the inmates as victims, and they see themselves as heroes for all of this grandstanding and obstructing that they've been doing.
"The good news is they are the minority, and the majority of New Jerseyans are not very happy with what's going on," he noted. "It's time for Gov. [Phil] Murphy to allow law enforcement to do its job and stop what's going on over there, because we know the mayor's not going to do it."
Baraka's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment by publication time.
Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr and Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ice-breakout-new-jersey-symptom-democratic-chaos-across-country-says-local-gop-leader