President Barack Obama has landed at Newark Liberty International Airport for a visit to Newark Watch video
NEWARK -- With their hands and legs wrapped around a metal gate, the children fixed their eyes on the sky as Air Force One descended from the air.
A few moments later, President Barack Obama emerged from the plane at Newark Liberty International Airport, with the presidential seal and the "United States of America" emblazoned across its side.
After walking down the stairs from the plane at about 1:30 p.m., Obama waved to the children and the other invited guests.
At the bottom of the stairs, the president was greeted by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.); U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10); Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Elizabeth Mayor Christian Bollwage.
Obama then walked over to the more than 80 guests waiting behind the metal gate. He shook the children's hands as the adults snapped photos on their cell phones.
LIVE BLOG: Traffic, updates and latest developments during Obama's N.J. visit.
As one boy sat on a man's shoulders, he reached forward and gave Obama a high-five.
The president then got into a waiting limousine and made his way into New Jersey's largest city.
Obama is visiting Newark Monday to discuss criminal justice issues, including efforts to help former criminals with re-entering the community after getting out of prison. Obama also is slated to announce a series of related initiatives by his administration.
Over the next few hours, Obama will visit Integrity House, a Newark-based center that provides treatment and services for drug addicts, and he then will hold an hour-long roundtable discussion at the Center for Law and Justice at Rutgers University in Newark.
Following that discussion, the president will give a speech at the university. He is expected to be joined by Booker, Baraka and U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, among others.
Obama will then head to New York City to raise money for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The president is scheduled to depart from Newark Liberty International Airport a little after 10 p.m.
With his motorcade winding through Newark, local officials have warned motorists to anticipate street closures and traffic delays in the area.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.