Kim on clashes outside New Jersey ICE facility: ‘One of the most difficult weeks of my entire life’

Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) on Sunday called the past week of clashes between law enforcement officers and demonstrators protesting conditions inside a federal immigration detention center “one of the most difficult” of his life.

Kim met with protesters outside Delaney Hall in Newark, N.J., last weekend after they gathered in solidarity with detained migrants on a hunger strike over the facility’s conditions. The situation escalated when officers fired pepper-spray balls at protesters, as well as at Kim.

“I’m hugely concerned, absolutely,” Kim told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “I’ve gotten so little sleep this past week. I mean, this has been one of the most difficult weeks of my entire life. And again, it’s not about me. It’s just –– I am so worried about my state. I’ve not seen my state with this level of precariousness through my entire time in elected office.”

Kim said he spoke with demonstrators who he said were “angry” and “frustrated” over what they said was “not in line with our values as a nation.”

“I feel it too,” he added.

Protests........

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