Washington, D.C. — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has forcefully condemned threats of criminal charges and punitive actions against three Democratic lawmakers who recently visited the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey—the lawmakers—Reps. Robert Menendez Jr., LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman—have been accused by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of trespassing and interfering with law enforcement.
According to Jeffries, the visit was intended as a congressional oversight operation, who denounced the retaliation as “an abuse of executive power.” He added, “Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to ensure federal agencies are accountable. This action borders on authoritarianism.”
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The incident gained widespread attention after Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was briefly detained while accompanying the lawmakers. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has since called for their arrest and possible removal from committee assignments, arguing that they “unlawfully breached a secure federal facility and incited a disturbance.”
Republican Representative Buddy Carter announced plans to introduce a resolution to strip the three members of their committee roles, while Democrats allege the incident reflects a broader pattern of hostility toward legislative oversight under the current administration.
Legal experts are divided on the matter, with some arguing that members of Congress have broad latitude to conduct site visits, while others suggest the confrontation may have crossed legal boundaries due to lack of coordination with ICE officials.
