The Trump administration is investigating and considering arrests of Democratic lawmakers suspected of fighting for Congress in New Jersey immigration and customs enforcement agencies on Friday.
Democratic New Jersey representative. Lamonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez were there to check the ice rink, as well as their legal rights. The facility, Delaney Hall, was recently reopened by a private prison company, Geo Group. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trespassing charges. According to CNN, he has been released.
DHS accused McIver of "beating icefield agents" on Saturday, sharing videos of the incident on social media. DHS spokesman Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Rolling stones On Saturday, the investigation was “ongoing” but no more was added in the current investigation phase.
"There may be more arrests. In fact, we have body camera footage of some members of Congress that attacked these ice law enforcement officers, including body hitting a female ice officer," McLaughlin said on CNN on Saturday morning.
The 26-second video posted to X shows a chaotic scene where McIver tries to pass through a group of law enforcement officers who are pushing people, almost like a Mosh pit. The video includes a clip that has slowed down to emphasize that McIver has apparently pushed a hockey agent who seems to have stopped walking in front of her near the gate. The video shows no body buckles.
"Yesterday, at Delaney Hall, I witnessed first-hand the chaos and cruelty of the immigration policies that defined the Trump administration," McPherson said in a statement. "As we have done before, we go for legal congressional oversight - do a good job for our voters and ask for answers. We are faced with contempt, disrespect and aggression of the ice."
McPver accused the Trump administration of “strengthening members of Congress” and added that the incident showed a “blatant abuse of power” by the president.
Trump's White House and Justice Department sources have been for weeks Rolling stones How serious is it that they may target federal immigration crackdowns that mayors of Trump for possible arrests and criminal charges.
"The president believes that it is important that we don't treat anyone, even Democratic politicians, as if they were legally."
In addition to concerns about the rule of law, there are many long-time Democratic agents, and even some liberal lawmakers and senior Capitol Hill aides who believe Trump and his administration will urgently backfire on Trump’s polls against Trump, which fell sharply just months after his second presidency.
A Democratic lawmaker told Rolling stones If Trump’s federal authorities were actually coming for him or some of his protests or other matters, that could mean they “winned the big prize” for grassroots fundraising, which would increase their national visibility and visibility among free voters.
Scrum was held Friday at the Delaney Hall Detention Center, a 1,000-bed facility operated by Geo Group, a large private prison company. The center recently reopened amid opposition from immigration rights groups. The city of Newark filed a lawsuit in April to stop occupancy and construction and allow the city to inspect the facility. Baraka argued that the facility should not be allowed to open due to building permit issues.
In February, ICE awarded Geo Group a 15-year contract to operate the facility. The private prison company said the contract is worth about $1 billion.
A geographic group subsidiary donated $1.3 million to the super PAC that supports Trump's 2024 presidential election. Geo Group also donated $500,000 to Trump's inauguration committee in December.
“The MPs who attacked the detention center went beyond a strange political stunt that put the safety of our law enforcement officers and detainees at risk,” McLaughlin said in a press release on Friday. “Parliamentarians are not above the law and cannot break into detention centers illegally. If these members request to tour, we will promote travel to the facility.”
"Just because you are a member of Congress doesn't mean you can break the law, trespass, put law enforcement at risk, and attack detention centers," she also said on CNN on Saturday morning.
"In contrast to the DHS press statement, we do not have a “storm” detention center," Watson Coleman said in a statement. "The authors of this press release are very unfamiliar with the facts, citing that they did not even correctly calculate the number of delegates present. We are exercising our legal oversight function, and as we did at the Elizabeth detention center, no incidents have occurred."
“Reopening Delaney Hall will not make us safer and will not create an immigration system that is fair and safe for all families.” A memo on the ICE website states that members of Congress “have special access to ICE facilities” and do not require prior notice of their intention to access such facilities for supervision.