Democrats and Republicans Clash Over New Jersey Rep Facing Charges After Scuffle Outside ICE Facility

House Republicans claim the lawmaker who participated in a protest at the facility engaged in ‘obstruction,’ not oversight.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka confronts ICE agents at a demonstration outside the Delany Hall ICE Facility, in Newark, N.J., on May 7, 2025. Timothy A. Clary/AFP

Democrats and Republicans clashed during a House hearing over charges faced by a Democratic congresswoman over a scuffle outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in New Jersey this month.

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing titled Examining Threats to ICE Operations on May 20 that focused on events at the Delany Hall ICE Facility in Newark.

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) was charged by the Department of Justice with assault in connection with the May 9 protest at the detention center. She, along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and other congressional members, stormed into the facility when the security gate opened to allow a bus carrying illegal immigrant detainees through, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Released Homeland Security footage showed law enforcement officers attempting to stop protesters from entering at the gate.

Misdemeanor trespassing charges against Baraka were dropped by the federal government.

During the contentious House hearing, lawmakers demonstrated a sea of difference between the parties when it comes to securing the border and deporting illegal immigrants.

Democrats said the elected officials were conducting oversight to check on the condition of detainees and exercising their free speech rights, accusing the Trump administration of “political intimidation.”

“Look, they’re coming after everyone who uses their constitutional rights and duties to speak truth to power—the press, the courts, and now members of Congress,” subcommittee ranking member Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said.

The ranking member of the full committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), said President Donald Trump’s supporters at the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol had turned justice upside down. He said “insurrectionists and rioters” were pardoned by the president.

He added that charges brought by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, formerly a defense attorney for Trump, were meant to distract the public from proposed Republican budget cuts.

Republicans said the behavior of elected officials at the facility amounted to obstruction, not oversight, which turned into an assault case in one instance because Democrats want to protect illegal immigrant criminals.

Full Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Republicans have consistently condemned political violence but that his Democratic colleagues have failed to do so, pointing to the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020, when Democrats raised money to free those in jail.

Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) said the incident demonstrated a “shameful” disregard for federal immigration law and public safety. He said the facility was filled with illegal immigrant criminals charged with offenses ranging from rape to murder.

“So let’s be honest—who exactly are the Democrats fighting for here?” he asked. “This is the part I don’t get—because it isn’t the American people.”