Representative LaMonica McIver, a first-term Democrat from New Jersey, successfully fended off a Republican-led attempt to censure her Wednesday over her involvement in a confrontation outside a migrant detention center in Newark. The facility has become a focal point of protests against President Trump’s deportation policies.
Ms. McIver, 39, was charged in May with assaulting and interfering with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after a clash that also involved Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. She has pleaded not guilty. A resolution to censure her and remove her from the House Committee on Homeland Security was blocked when seven Republicans joined Democrats to table the measure.
The incident occurred May 9 during a House oversight visit to Delaney Hall, a private facility run by GEO Group holding up to 1,000 migrants. Video footage showed Ms. McIver moving toward the detention center gates as ICE agents, clad in masks and camouflage, moved to arrest Mr. Baraka on trespassing charges. She was pushed from behind after the mayor was handcuffed. Following the confrontation, she and two Democratic colleagues toured the facility.
Ten days later, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor and former personal lawyer to Mr. Trump, dropped charges against Mr. Baraka but pursued them against Ms. McIver. A grand jury indicted her for allegedly “forcibly grabbing” one agent and striking another with her forearms to block the mayor’s arrest.
Republican Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana, who resigned from Homeland Security last week, introduced the censure resolution, citing a conflict of interest given her committee role overseeing federal immigration enforcement. The House clerk reading the resolution faced repeated boos before Democrats, led by Whip Katherine Clark, successfully moved to table it.
Ms. McIver responded defiantly, saying the effort was “punishing me for doing what [Republicans] are too cowardly to do: conduct real oversight, stand up to this administration, and do our jobs.”
The Newark detention center controversy has intensified scrutiny of ICE facilities in New Jersey. Weeks after the May incident, four detainees escaped Delaney Hall over concerns about food and overcrowding. Meanwhile, Ms. Habba’s authority as U.S. attorney has been challenged in federal court, leaving the state’s federal courts in legal limbo.
The censure resolution could be reconsidered at a later date.
