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A Newark, New Jersey, facility behind a wave of chaotic anti-ICE protests "isn't going anywhere," border czar Tom Homan warned Monday, firing back at Gov. Mikie Sherrill and a slew of Democratic officials.
"The governor keeps saying she's going to keep raising hell until this facility shuts down. Well, I've got news for the governor — that facility isn't going anywhere," Homan said on "Hannity."
"We're going to enforce the law, we're going to detain people, we'll remove people..."
Many of the people in the facility, Homan added, must be detained under federal law and cannot be released.
FOX NEWS GOES INSIDE NEW JERSEY ICE FACILITY STORMED BY DEMOCRATS
White House border czar Tom Homan speaks with reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Homan said he has personally verified that everyone in the facility is being legally detained.
Newark's Delaney Hall is at the center of a standoff that began after illegal immigrant detainees penned an open letter alleging they live in "inhumane" conditions and claiming they were being denied medical care and adequate food.
"Initially, we ask for forgiveness for the way we entered the United States, but given the circumstances we were living in our countries, which placed our lives and those of some members of our families in danger," the letter states. "We feel vulnerable and, in a way, kidnapped — detained without justification — not to mention that we are being tortured physically and psychologically due to the poor food resources provided in these detention centers."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied the allegations, releasing facility menus that it said showed detainees receive three meals daily, including options such as chicken fajitas and Salisbury steak.
New Jersey state police detain a man outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, N.J., on Sunday, May 31. (Adam Gray/AP Photo)
Protests have escalated into confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement.
Sherrill issued a statement, writing that she is "deeply disturbed" by alleged "poor conditions" at the facility.
"I have long opposed private detention facilities and advocated against them. I will continue to call for the closure of Delaney Hall because of reports like these," she wrote.
Democrats have since mounted a broader effort against the facility, including calls from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for Delaney Hall to be "shut down."
Homan, however, blamed what he called "false" Democratic claims for the chaos.
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"We've got to remember what started all this. You've got Democratic lawmakers from Memorial Day making false allegations about the facility, about the food, the medical care, hunger strikes," he said.
"I went into that facility. I went to the medical [portion]. I went through outdoor recreation, indoor recreation. I even made a surprise visit this weekend and walked into the cafeteria and ate the same meal that the detainees around me were eating," he added.
"I made sure my tray equaled their tray. I had spaghetti and meat sauce. I had beans. I had green beans. I had bread and rolls. I had drinks. I had dessert. The food was good. It's all a false premise."
Fox News' Stephen Sorace and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
