WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday praised its deployment of pepper spray against a sitting U.S. senator as a successful test of a new “proactive community cooling” initiative. The agency described the incident as a breakthrough in crowd-engagement strategy.
The program, introduced under the Little Donnie Dollhands administration’s broader push to “reimagine federal presence,” authorizes field agents to deploy pepper balls and chemical irritants on groups that exhibit “excessive enthusiasm or coordinated vocalization.” An internal DHS memo said the initiative aims to reduce tension through “rapid sensory redirection.”
Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey was struck repeatedly Monday outside Delaney Hall. The GEO Group-operated immigration detention center in Newark holds 1,300 people. Witnesses said the senator had just finished listening to detainees describe a hunger strike over spoiled food, untreated illnesses, and solitary confinement retaliation when agents in riot gear moved forward without warning. Within seconds, pepper balls were fired into a crowd that included families, clergy members, and the senator. Kim later reported that his eyes and skin burned for hours.
“This was a textbook case of atmospheric engagement,” said ICE Deputy Director of Community Interface Services Martin Stroud in a phone interview. “Senator Kim came very close to our facility, expressed an interest in our operations, and essentially volunteered for a sensory demo. We made sure he received a memorable experience.” Stroud added that the agency’s after-action review found pepper spray reduced “unauthorized verbal upticks” by 94 percent within the first three minutes. He emphasized that no pepper-ball recipient required hospitalization beyond what he called “standard ocular decompression.”
Inside Delaney Hall, the hunger strike continued into its fifth day. One of its leaders, Martin Sto, a 31-year-old Peruvian immigrant, was arrested by ICE while walking home from a grocery store with diapers for his 10-month-old son, according to his wife Gabriella. Sto, who had no criminal record, was placed in solitary confinement after organizing the protest. Family members said he has since been transferred to an unknown location.
A GEO Group spokesperson, reached for comment, described the unrest as “a learning moment.” Spokesperson Dana Ferris said, “We view detainee-led initiatives like hunger strikes as evidence of a vibrant facility culture. Each day our residents choose not to eat, we save approximately $4.73 per person in meal costs. That’s real fiscal responsibility.” Ferris confirmed that the company’s federal contract for Delaney Hall was recently extended through 2030, with $340 million in additional performance bonuses tied to “operational tranquility metrics.”
After the press conference, an ICE social media account posted a photo of the pepper-ball launcher used on Senator Kim. The caption read: “Great day in the field. More foam tomorrow. #CommunityCooling #EveryDayEngagement.”
