Masked ICE agents confronted protesters and pushed people to the ground outside Delaney Hall this evening.

U.S. Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) got pepper sprayed in the melee.

"My throat's burning," he told ABC News. "My eyes are burning. But again, it's not about me. Several have told me they're being threatened with retaliation, saying that if you continue with this protest, we will transfer you. We will cut back or cut off visitation rights for family."

Said Pastor George Dredden:

"The protest turned into ICE making several arrests after storming into the crowd. We got pepper sprayed, but we are OK. Haven't tasted this stuff since my law enforcement days. The extra ICE presence left, and the protest returned to a peaceful state again. SEN. ANDY KIM did his best to keep things from escalating."

WATCH that escalation captured by PIX11 News here:

More here from PIX11:

NEW JERSEY (PIX11) — Protesters and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were caught in a chaotic stand-off outside Delaney Hall Detention Facility on Monday.

It was the third consecutive day of protests outside the facility. The protests started on Saturday with family members of detainees decrying “horrible conditions.”

 Discover more local reporting on our homepage 

After a long afternoon of demonstration, things started to pick up for a second time around 5 p.m. Dozens of protesters were seen with signs, locked arms up against federal agents. After some minutes of stand-off, ICE agents could be seen repeatedly spraying tear gas or pepper spray into the crowd.

Earlier Monday afternoon, a smaller group of protesters clashed with ICE agents. ICE agents were seen throwing one protester to the ground and dragging another. Some protesters threw water and yelled at the agents.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement, which read in part:

The facts are all detainees are provided with 3 meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap, and toiletries. Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Certified dieticians evaluate meals. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens.

“This is nothing more than a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians for fundraising clicks. There is NO hunger strike at Delaney Hall. There are NO subprime conditions or abuse at the facility,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “These sanctuary politicians should be thanking ICE law enforcement for removing murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and drug traffickers from their communities. We need these sanctuary politicians to stop peddling this garbage and cooperate with us to get these criminals out of their state. These types of smears are contributing to our officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them as they remove the worst of the worst.”