Four detained migrants managed to escape from the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, on Thursday, as a group of inmates “turned violent” over meals being delayed.

Anti-ICE protesters were gathered outside the facility during the escape, preventing an SUV from exiting the gates and pursuing the migrants.

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The escapees were last seen running near Turnpike 78 and Delancey Street, according to PIX11 News. 

“Additional law enforcement partners have been brought in to find these escapees, and a BOLO has been disseminated,” a senior Homeland Security official told Fox News. 

Prior to the inmates’ escape, at least 50 inmates had pushed down a dormitory wall. They had also taken bed sheets and hung them, in what appeared to be an effort to escape. 

“It’s about the food, and some of the detainees were getting aggressive, and it turned violent,” Mustafa Cetin, an immigration lawyer representing one of the inmates, told NJ.com. “Based on what he told me, it was an outer wall, not very strong, and they were able to push it down.”

Cetin shared that his client also smelled gas. Whitney Strub, a Rutgers University-Newark professor, was one of the protesters outside the building and shared that she also smelled “some kind of gas.”

“We were all coughing at the same time,” Strub said.

In response to the disturbance, Essex County deputies arrived on the scene.

“When our officers arrived, the situation had already been resolved,” Essex County Sheriff Amir Jones said. “At no point did our personnel enter the facility — we remained on the perimeter throughout.”

Allegations of migrants being subjected to abuse drew criticism from Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was previously arrested for trespassing during a protest at Delaney Hall last month. 

“We are concerned about reports of what has transpired at Delaney Hall this evening, ranging from withholding food and poor treatment, to uprising and escaped detainees,” Baraka said in a statement. “This entire situation lacks sufficient oversight of every basic detail — including local zoning laws and fundamental constitutional rights.”

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Baraka demanded “immediate answers and clear communication” from DHS GEO Group, which operates the facility. 

“We must put an end to this chaos and not allow this operation to continue unchecked,” Baraka said.