One of the Democratic members of the U.S. House involved in a tense confrontation with ICE officials is expected to face assault charges, according to the New Jersey Globe. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is set to announce the charges on Friday.
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) will be charged for allegedly placing her hands on ICE agents during a scuffle outside the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, where agents were attempting to prevent a group of Democratic lawmakers from entering the facility. Her arrest follows that of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was detained at the scene on similar charges. A source told the Globe that McIver could surrender as early as this afternoon.
The incident occurred on Friday, May 9, when McIver, Baraka, and several other Democratic lawmakers attempted to gain access to Delaney Hall to investigate alleged substandard conditions for detained illegal immigrants. They were accompanied by Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Rob Menendez (D-NJ), son of embattled former Sen. Bob Menendez, who’s been convicted on charges of corruption.
During the altercation, Baraka was arrested after allegedly defying ICE agents’ orders to disperse, though he has maintained that he was complying with their instructions. Bodycam footage released by ICE appears to show Rep. LaMonica McIver becoming physically involved as Baraka made chest-to-chest contact with officers, then attempting to shield him as he walked away.
Some Republican lawmakers who have reviewed the footage have accused McIver of “body slamming” an ICE officer—an allegation firmly denied by a spokesperson for Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, stayed mostly mum on Friday, saying he had “no comment on the specifics,” though he defended the right of McIver and other New Jersey lawmakers to exercise oversight authority of federal facilities.
“LaMonica, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rob Menendez have absolute rights to inspect those facilities,” Murphy said. “And if [a federal charge] goes ahead, I think it’s just as I said about Ras Baraka: outrageous.”
NEW: DHS has provided @FoxNews ICE bodycam video from the altercation at the Delaney Hall detention facility yesterday. They say the video clearly shows @RepLaMonica (red clothing) shoving/elbowing her way past a DHS agent to get past the gate and into the property, followed… pic.twitter.com/GOAKm6U80W
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 10, 2025
“Congresspeople have the right to investigate, and we allowed them in—number one,” acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba said in response after accusing the Democratic lawmakers of politicizing what took place at the ICE facility. “Number two, the mayor was inside the facility and was warned and asked to leave several times, more than once. He refused to leave, was put under arrest inside the facility, walked out when he was told he was under arrest, and then was cuffed. That’s what happened.
