Photojournalist hit by crowd-control munitions at immigration protest

Independent photojournalist Josh Pacheco was shoved and targeted with chemical irritant spray and crowd-control munitions by law enforcement while covering protests outside an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on May 29, 2026.

Protests outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility began May 22, when many detainees went on a hunger strike. Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility.

Federal officers responded to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests, as did state police in the days that followed.

The Department of Homeland Security has denied allegations of detainee mistreatment.

Pacheco told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that they were covering protests outside the facility May 29, the day that saw the first involvement of New Jersey State Patrol officers.

“The whole point of sending in the police was to minimize aggression and violence,” they said. “And it didn’t minimize anything, it just changed faces.”

The photojournalist said that they were repeatedly shoved and targeted with pepper spray, which became embedded in their hair. “Anytime that my hair brushed against my face, I was coughing.”

As state troopers launched gas canisters and fired 40 mm projectiles toward the crowd, Pacheco said they decided to move back from the active front line, along with several other journalists. Once the group made it across from the entrance to Delaney Hall, they found themselves targeted again: this time by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“ICE officers were firing pepper balls and rubber bullets at us from the entrance further back,” Pacheco said. “There were three or four of us, and I was like, ‘OK, done with this. Take it back now, y’all.’ And that’s when we’d get fired at again.”

The photojournalist said the group was forced back and forth by the different law enforcement agencies multiple times.

“Clearly they don’t want us documenting what they’re doing,” Pacheco said, “and at the same time they don’t care how violent they’re going to be, even though we’re going to get it on camera.”

The New Jersey State Police Office of Public Information did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

In a statement posted to X early May 30, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote that state police were clearing the area outside Delaney Hall because a small number of people were blocking the pathway for law enforcement vehicles. It did not address the use of force against members of the press.

In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.

“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”