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New Jersey Democratic Sen. Andy Kim fired back after DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin accused him of engaging in “political theater” following a chaotic protest outside Newark’s Delaney Hall detention facility, where Kim was struck by pepper-ball spray while confronting federal officers.
Kim and other New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill, have sharply criticized conditions at Delaney Hall, an immigration detention facility in Newark operated by a private contractor. DHS officials, meanwhile, accuse the lawmakers of escalating tensions and undermining ICE enforcement efforts. The clash intensified after Kim was hit with pepper-ball spray during demonstrations outside the facility earlier this week.
“Secretary Markwayne Mullin in a cabinet meeting today said that I was complaining about being hit by a pepperball spray at Delaney Hall and he said that I shouldn’t be there — I just want to say this was never about me,” Kim said in a response on social media later Thursday.
“I was willing to take that risk. I’m not complaining about the pepperball spraying — for me, I’m complaining about what the treatment is to my constituents, to Americans and to civilians that were in harm’s way.”
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Kim said Mullin’s agency is overseeing inhumane treatment of the illegal immigrants inside the facility and is wrongfully awarding a lucrative contract to a Boca Raton-based company to manage it.
“So again, this isn’t about me. I was willing to take on that risk. I’d do it all over again,” he said.
He said he would do “anything that I can to keep my constituents and to keep people safe.”
When asked about Kim’s response, Mullin told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he was sorry to see Kim spread fallacies and inflame the situation unnecessarily.
“It’s unfortunate that Senator Andy Kim (who I’ve had a good relationship with) is spreading this FALSE narrative and adding fuel to the fire for no other reason than political theater,” Mullin said.
“This isn’t a Holiday Inn. Illegal aliens are at this detention facility because they broke our nation’s laws. ICE has arrested brutal criminals in New Jersey, including murders, rapists, sex offenders, child predators, and drug traffickers. “They are provided medical treatment, a clean place to sleep, and 3 meals a day plus commissary,” he added.
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“Contrary to what liberal politicians and the leftist media want you to think: DHS does NOT make the laws that govern the United States. Our officers are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress.
“If these sanctuary politicians in Congress don’t like our nation’s laws, they have the ability to change them.”
Mullin said the behavior of Kim and other Democrats put their “radical left… priorities” on full display, adding that rapists, child predators and drug dealers are among those the protesters want released back into society.
New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra, R-Toms River, told Fox News Digital in a separate exclusive interview Wednesday that the food vendor at Delaney Hall is also contracted at nearby Giants Stadium, quipping that if the food is good enough for Big Blue, it should be good enough for the inmates.
Mullin also appeared to fault Newark city government for its hands-off law enforcement approach.
He said ICE has had to conduct typical law enforcement behavior like removing barricades and preventing protesters from restricting ingress and egress – something that Mayor Ras J. Baraka’s Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security should be in charge of.
Baraka announced in 2015 that the Newark Police and fire department now fall under that new agency, and he appoints the leader.
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Kim’s actions have raised ire on both sides of the aisle for opposing reasons, as Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., posted a split image of Kim washing his eyes out with protesters’ water bottles and Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., being detained while attempting to confront then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a Los Angeles meeting.
“When even U.S. Senators are targeted, every American should understand: no one is safe from ICE’s abuses,” Schumer said in a statement. “It’s why I’m fighting tooth-and-nail against additional funds for Trump’s rogue police forces.”
Meanwhile, New Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia likened Kim’s and other Democrats’ actions to the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books popular among young people in the 1990s.
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“The Pepper Spray of Destiny,” Fantasia, R-Sussex, entitled her faux-book in a social media post.
The book’s cover shows Schumer with a speech bubble calling the chaos a “peaceful protest,” a dumpster full of trash and barricade material, an ICE agent shooting a pepperball gun and Kim superimposed on the image with an outstretched arm as if to say “no.”
“Federal lawmakers in NJ are out here treating riots like Choose Your Own Adventure books,” Fantasia said. “Instead of going through proper channels, they keep choosing every option labeled ‘This is a terrible idea’.”
“If you’d like to skip Memorial Day ceremonies in favor of an ICE protest, turn to page 3. If you’d like to insert yourself into a volatile situation, turn to page 7. If you’d like to help protesters drag debris from a dumpster to illegally block the entrance, turn to page 11,” she said.
“If you’d like Senator Schumer to explain why none of this was your fault, turn to page 18. If you’d like the mainstream media to call you ‘courageous’ for it, turn to page 20.”
Agitators returned again Thursday morning to Delaney Hall, according to witnesses on scene. From about sunrise to mid-afternoon, the protests have been largely peaceable this week thus far.
As sundown approaches each day, older daytime protesters often give way to black-clad protesters wearing goggles and masks at night.
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