The FBI has been reaching out to protesters arrested outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jerseyattempting to recruit them as informants. These contacts have raised concerns among legal experts and civil rights advocates about the constitutional rights of those involved in the protests.
The protests at Delaney Hall, a privately run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, have been ongoing for several weeks. They were sparked by a detainee hunger strike protesting alleged deplorable conditions inside the facility. Among the protesters was John Mark Rozendaalwho brought his cello to the demonstrations, believing that music could help de-escalate tensions.
The Night of May 29 and the Aftermath
On the night of May 29the scene outside Delaney Hall turned violent. New Jersey State Police and ICE agents issued a dispersal order and used force to clear the area, deploying chemical weapons and charging protesters on horseback. Rozendaal, who was playing his cello on a concrete barricade, was arrested and charged with one count of obstructing law enforcement.
A week later, Rozendaal received a call from the FBI. The agent informed him that the call was regarding his arrest at Delaney Hall. During the conversation, the agent asked Rozendaal if he would be willing to provide information about protesters planning to attend future demonstrations with what they described as “not the right intentions.” Rozendaal immediately rejected the offer and invoked his right to remain silent, ending the conversation.
The FBI’s Pattern of Contacting Protesters
Rozendaal is not the only protester to receive such a call. According to Benjamin Van Metera deputy public defender with the Essex County Public Defender’s Officeat least half of the approximately 90 protesters arrested at the demonstrations have been contacted by federal agents seeking information. Van Meter has lodged a complaint, asserting that these contacts violate the constitutional rights of his clients.
The phone number used to contact Rozendaal is registered to the FBI’s New York field office and is listed online as an anonymous tipline. Legal experts, including Amol Sinhaexecutive director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s New Jersey chapterhave criticized these tactics, stating that the FBI has a history of attempting to infiltrate and disrupt protest movements.
Legal Experts Weigh In
Sinha emphasized the importance of protesters knowing their rights when approached by federal agents. “Unless the FBI produces a warrant, you have the right to refuse entry,” he said. “You certainly have the right to stay silent and to demand a lawyer. You are not under any obligation to speak to them about anything—especially if they are charging you with a crime.”
Van Meter wrote a letter to Robert Frazerthe U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, and two high-ranking FBI officials, demanding that the FBI cease its attempts to question his clients without an attorney present. In the letter, dated June 9Van Meter stated that these contacts violate the right to counsel and that any further efforts to question his clients would be a continued violation of their constitutional rights.
The Protesters’ Responses
Samuel Beckeranother protester facing local charges, also received a visit from federal agents. Becker criticized the FBI’s actions, stating that they would rather intimidate and punish protesters than investigate the alleged abuses within the detention facility. “The FBI would rather intimidate and punish the people protesting outside of Delaney Hall than investigate the physical, sexual, and psychological violence that ICE agents and their auxiliaries are inflicting on detainees across this country every day,” he said.
Rozendaal expressed similar sentiments, believing that the FBI’s intent was to divide and intimidate the protesters. “I think the real intent is to divide us, to make us scared to talk to each other, too scared to talk in general, scared to go to Delaney Hall,” he said. “It won’t work.”
Karen Paffa spokesperson for the New Jersey Office of the Public Defenderstated that Van Meter and his colleagues are working to ensure that the rights of their clients are respected. “When law-enforcement officers seek to question individuals who are represented by counsel about matters within the scope of that representation, it is our responsibility to notify the appropriate agencies that counsel has been assigned and that any such communications must comply with the law,” she said.
