Political tensions in New Jersey are boiling over following the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka earlier this month at the Delaney Hall immigration detention facility. The clash, which erupted as Baraka joined protesters opposing the facility’s operation, has set off a political firestorm just weeks ahead of the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Baraka, who was arrested and charged with trespassing during the protest, now claims he was “targeted” for his stance. “I was the only person arrested. That’s right. I was the only person identified. I was the only person, you know, they put in a cell,” he said after a court appearance last week.

Delaney Hall, located in Newark, is run by the private company GEO Group and operates under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Newark city officials have argued that the facility does not have a valid certificate of occupancy, while GEO Group maintains that it is in full compliance with all city regulations.

The arrest has sparked sharp reactions across the political spectrum. Progressive activists have rushed to defend Baraka, framing the incident as a matter of government overreach and political suppression. “Anybody who cares about government accountability or free speech… should be outraged by what happened to Mayor Baraka,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey.

Among the protesters was Mysonne, a rapper and co-founder of the leftist group Until Freedom, who claimed the incident represented a broader fight against “fascism.” But while left-wing groups rallied to Baraka’s defense, Republicans in the state—and in Washington—had a very different take.

“Shame on the Democrats, particularly the mayor of Newark,” said Trump-endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli. “He’s showing up to a detention center where we’re detaining illegals who’ve committed crimes. I don’t understand what it is exactly we’re protesting.”

Ciattarelli emphasized that with the border crisis affecting communities across the country, even states like New Jersey are feeling the consequences. “When the border is as porous as it was under the Joe Biden administration, we’re all border states,” he said. “We should not be encouraging illegal immigration with sanctuary cities or sanctuary states.”

Baraka’s campaign was quick to push back. Spokesman Kabir Moss defended the mayor’s record and accused Ciattarelli of mischaracterizing Newark. “When Baraka became Mayor, there were over 100 homicides a year—today, that number is 37. Violent crime is at its lowest point since John F. Kennedy was President,” Moss said. He also denied the trespassing allegation, claiming Baraka had been invited into the facility by GEO Group staff.

“He didn’t go there to get arrested, he went to join a press conference with the congress members,” Moss said. “But if Jack Ciattarelli can’t recognize the Constitutional crisis we’re in—where due process is being denied on American soil—then he’s not fit to be Governor.”

The federal government has launched an investigation into the incident, led by interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, and several members of Congress who joined the protest are also under scrutiny. That adds another layer of controversy in what is already a heated political environment.

With the Democratic gubernatorial primary just weeks away, the arrest has added new fuel to an already high-stakes race. Baraka is among the top contenders vying to replace outgoing Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy, and the June 10 primary could become a referendum on the state’s stance on immigration enforcement.

Cook Political Report currently ranks the general election in New Jersey as “Lean Democratic,” but Republicans believe the ICE clash could provide them with a potent message in a state where Trump came just shy of flipping the vote in 2024.

As the legal and political battles intensify, New Jersey may soon become ground zero for the national fight over immigration, law enforcement, and the limits of political protest. And with both parties digging in, the fallout from one mayor’s arrest is poised to echo far beyond the gates of Delaney Hall.