Three House Democrats � all from New Jersey � and the Mayor of Newark
descended on Delaney Hall on Friday, demanding access to and oversight of the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center that is being used
to house criminal illegal aliens. What followed was a �they said � they said�
scenario involving the Department of Homeland Security and the Democrats �
and some of it played out on the Sunday morning political talk shows.
For those who don�t spend their Sunday mornings glued to the television � and
their Sunday afternoons attempting to dig through a week�s worth of network
and cable news media spin � The Daily Wire has compiled a short summary of
what you may have missed.
The protest that took place on Friday � according to Newark�s Democratic
Mayor Ras Baraka and Garden State Democratic Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie
Watson-Coleman, and Rob Menendez � was simply several members of Congress
exercising their oversight authority. Watson-Coleman told CNN on Saturday
that the group was simply waiting for �a tour� of the facility, the obvious
implication being that the tour had been prearranged.
Mayor Baraka, who is currently campaigning to be New Jersey�s next governor,
has been protesting Delaney Hall�s existence since the beginning. During the
week prior to the protest, city workers parked a bulldozer in front of the
gate in order to block access to the facility. Baraka was arrested during the
protest and detained by ICE agents.
The Department of Homeland Security offered an entirely different take on the
incident: initial reports stated that the New Jersey Democrats had been part
of a protest group that waited outside the gates until they were opened for a
vehicle transporting detainees � at which point they rushed past security and
onto the property. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a
statement that if they had requested a tour rather than simply staging a
protest outside the gate, one would have been arranged.
On CBS News� �Face the Nation,� Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) addressed reports
that ICE could potentially arrest the three Democratic representatives who
had been involved in the protests as well.
After ICE threatened to arrest three Democratic members of Congress
following a protest in Newark, New Jersey, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX)
says any such arrests would �be a very drastic move.�
�I would only do that if they were complicit with a crime,� he says.
pic.twitter.com/N1Qa6fOGHJ
� Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 11, 2025
McCaul said that ICE arresting the members of Congress would be a �very
drastic move,� adding, �I would only do that if they were complicit with a
crime.�
�I don�t know all the facts behind this,� he continued. �If they were just
visiting a detention center, that�s � I�ve done that many times. If they were
disrupting law enforcement, that�s another question. We can peacefully
protest in this country, but you cannot be complicit with gang violence
against our law enforcement, and I think perhaps that�s what it comes down
to.�
Anchor Dana Bash also brought up the incident during Sunday�s broadcast of
�State of the Union� � and she brought in the three New Jersey Democrats to
weigh in on what had happened.
.@RepBonnie on clash with ICE outside Newark detention facility:
�Chaos ensued when someone on the phone above the leaders of ICE
who were with us at that facility instructed them to go out of the
facility, go to the private property and lock the mayor of the
largest city in the� pic.twitter.com/EEqEYmukMp
� State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 11, 2025
�Chaos ensued when someone on the phone above the leaders of ICE who were
with us at that facility instructed them to go out of the facility, go to the
private property, and lock the mayor of the largest city in the state of New
Jersey up. That�s absurd. That�s un-American. That�s scary. That�s
determination to intimidate people in this country,� Rep. Watson-Coleman
said.
During a previous CNN interview on Saturday, Watson-Coleman had claimed that
DHS officials were �lying� when they accused the Democrats and protesters of
getting rough with ICE agents, and said that any body cam footage that showed
such actions would have to be �manufactured.
Responding to DHS accusing her of �body slamming� an ICE officer,
@RepLaMonica tells @DanaBashCNN, �I honestly do not know how to body
slam anyone. There�s no video that supports me body slamming
anyone.�@RepMenendez says, �There were a lot of opportunities for
DHS, for ICE to� pic.twitter.com/Fhfpq06jHq
� State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 11, 2025
Rep. McIver responded to DHS reports that she had �body-slammed� an ICE agent
during the scuffle, saying, �I honestly do not know how to body slam anyone.
There�s no video that supports me body slamming anyone.�
Menendez then claimed that ICE agents had intentionally escalated the
situation, adding, �There were a lot of opportunities for DHS, for ICE to
de-escalate the situation. They chose not to� It�s something that should
really shock all Americans.�
Later on in the broadcast, Bash brought in a panel to discuss the situation �
and the possibility that the three Democratic Reps. could face arrest.
.@RepSuhas on DHS threatening to arrest members of Congress: �If
I�m going to be put behind bars for trying to stand up for the
constitutional rights of my constituents, for standing up for civil
liberties, bring it on.�@KSoltisAnderson, @BradOnMessage and
@XochitlHinojosa join� pic.twitter.com/IhnQI47pJe
� State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) May 11, 2025
Spin Cycle: The Democrats Went Down To Newark ...