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By Hannah Parry
Associate News Editor
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Representative Earl "Buddy" Carter introduced a new bill on Tuesday aimed at punishing Democrats who protested the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in New Jersey.
The resolution seeks to strip Democratic New Jersey Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez and LaMonica McIver of their committee posts after they visited the Delaney Hall detention center. Officials from President Donald Trump's administration have alleged the Democrats "stormed" the facility.
The new bill, if passed, would remove Watson Coleman from the House Committee on Appropriations, McIver from the House Committees on Homeland Security and Small Business, and Menendez from the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who also visited the center, was arrested and accused of trespassing.
Why It Matters
The proposed resolution intensifies the ongoing conflict between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement and the role of elected officials in oversight. By seeking to remove committee assignments from sitting members of Congress, the bill underscores the heightened partisan tensions surrounding immigration policy and the boundaries of lawful protest.
What To Know
On May 9, Representatives Watson Coleman, Menendez and McIver, accompanied by Baraka, visited the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark to protest its reopening for detaining migrants. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials allege that the lawmakers engaged in aggressive behavior, including "body-slamming" ICE officers—a charge the lawmakers deny. Video footage of the incident has been released and is under investigation, according to Axios.
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Watson Coleman said that ICE attempted to delay and dissuade the lawmakers from entering the facility and ultimately disregarded their authority. She described the threats of arrest by DHS as creating "an environment of intimidation," Axios reported.
Republican leaders, including House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, have condemned the Democrats' actions. Green accused them of "storming" the facility and suggested they were attempting to release detainees unlawfully, according to a statement.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that arresting the three Democratic members of Congress is "on the table" following the incident. She alleged that the lawmakers' actions put law enforcement and detainees at risk, Politico reported.
What People Are Saying
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, per Axios.
A spokesperson for Watson Coleman told Axios: "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," adding that their offices had "reviewed the body cam footage," and saying it proves "ICE agents put their hands on Members of Congress ... it also proves that DHS has been lying about this incident."
What's Next
The proposed resolution to strip the three Democrats of their committee assignments is expected to be brought to the House floor for a vote in the coming days. If passed, it would mark a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration over immigration policy and enforcement practices.
Update 05/13/25, 7:12 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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