Photojournalists Say ICE Agents Targeted Them and Their Cameras at Delaney Hall Protests

Several photojournalists, who were covering the protests outside Delaney Hall, have alleged that they were purposely targeted and attacked by some ICE agents.

Anti-ICE protests continued over the weekend outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey. Detainees are reportedly demanding improved living conditions and access to medical care, while demonstrators have maintained a presence outside the facility for more than a week in support of immigrants they say are facing inhumane treatment.

According to a report by amNewYork, there have been allegations from multiple photojournalists who say they were injured while documenting clashes near the detention center, with some reporting damaged camera equipment and physical injuries, including broken fingers.

Reuters photojournalist Ryan Murphy tells amNewYork that he was struck with a baton over several nights of coverage and said agents targeted his camera during an incident on Thursday. Murphy said he believes the strike broke one of his fingers.

“I had just photographed a guy on the ground getting bear-sprayed in the face, turned around to another protester getting shoved or something, and I was just hit by a baton in the finger next to my flash, and yeah, my hand just went numb. My flash flew on the ground,” Murphy tells the news outlet. “There is a big gash on my middle finger. It was bleeding pretty badly, I think it’s broken.”

Photographer Madison Swart, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, also alleged that she was deliberately pushed to the ground while documenting the protests. Swart says an agent struck her with a baton during the confrontation. According to amNewYork, another photographer was reportedly seen curled in the fetal position as agents moved over her, while another prominent photographer, who requested anonymity, says the top of his camera was smashed.

“I was moving back as they were asking us to and I got shoved with a baton, and I fell because it was very forceful. And then another agent did help me up, but it wasn’t the same one that pushed me,” Swart says. “I was just a little in shock, just because I’ve never fallen while shooting before, and so I, I’m kind of like still trying to process in my head how I could have reacted maybe a little bit better, but at the same time, when someone who is like twice my body size pushes me, I don’t know if there’s much more I can really do.”

amNewYork says it has contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment regarding the allegations and is awaiting a response.

In the last year, PetaPixel has reported on several incidents involving photojournalists facing safety risks while covering protests across the United States. In February, a photographer covering anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles said he was struck by a less-lethal round fired by an officer and suffered a broken bone. Meanwhile, in March, a student photographer reportedly lost his right eye after allegedly being struck by a projectile fired by a DHS agent while covering a “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.