Trump admin eyes arrests for House Dems over ICE incident
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Rep. Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) at a House Transportation Committee hearing on June 6, 2023. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Democratic members of Congress who were part of a scuffle with law enforcement officers at an ICE facility in New Jersey may face arrests, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Axios Saturday.
Why it matters: It would be a major escalation in the Trump administration's arrests of politicians and other public servants, including the mayor of Newark and a judge in Milwaukee.
- DHS is accusing the House Democrats of assaulting law enforcement. The lawmakers say they were the ones who were assaulted.
- The lawmakers involved in the incident: Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) and LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.).
What they're saying: DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a CNN interview on Saturday morning that "there will likely be more arrests coming."
- "We actually have body camera footage of these members of Congress assaulting these ICE enforcement officers, including body slamming a female ICE officer," she added.
- McLaughlin said there is an "ongoing investigation" and that arresting the lawmakers is "definitely on the table."
- She confirmed in a text message to Axios that the House Democrats may be arrested.
The other side: "Threatening to arrest Members of Congress for exercising their lawful oversight authority is another example of this administration abusing its power to try to intimidate anyone who stands up to them," said a spokesperson for Watson Coleman.
- The spokesperson said their office has "reviewed the body cam footage" and that it proves "ICE agents put their hands on Members of Congress ... it also proves that DHS has been lying about this incident."
- "We're honestly surprised they released this footage given that it so wholly contradicts their claims. Nobody was 'body slammed' nobody 'assaulted' any agents, and this footage confirms that."
- DHS posted to social media a video that it said proved McIver assaulted an ICE officer.
Zoom in: McIver said at a press conference Friday after the incident that she was "assaulted by multiple ICE officers while regional directors of ICE watched it happen."
- "Nobody offered an apology or said anything to me about what occurred out here," she added.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) stood by his members in a statement saying "the masked agents who physically accosted two Congresswomen must be identified immediately."
What happened: The lawmakers and ICE officers got into a physical confrontation over the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for allegedly trespassing at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark.
- The Democrats were there protesting the reopening of the facility to hold migrants, arguing that the private prison company operating it has failed to obtain the proper sanitation and safety permits.
- Watson Coleman told reporters after a tour of the facility on Friday that the conditions "aren't bad ... it's clean, they're feeding them."
Between the lines: Democrats have argued that the arrests are unjustified based on laws that prohibit federal resources from being used to impede congressional oversight.
- DHS has said that the lawmakers needed to provide advanced notice of their visit, and that a tour would have been facilitated had they done so.
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional context.
