New Jersey Democrat's immunity claim falls flat in case over ICE facility assault

TRENTON (CN) — A New Jersey congresswoman accused of assaulting federal immigration officials earlier this year must face at least two of the three federal charges against her, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat representing part of Northern New Jersey, was accused of assaulting federal officers outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark, during an unannounced oversight visit last spring.

McIver claimed she was protecting Newark Mayor Ras Baraka from officials who tried to forcibly remove him when he was accused of trespassing during the visit. In June she pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying outside the courthouse, “They will not intimidate me.”

U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper, a Joe Biden appointee, noted that while legislators are granted immunity under the speech or debate clause, McIver was not acting in her congressional oversight role when participating in the scrum with immigration officials in the parking lot outside the facility.

“Impeding an arrest, whether lawful or unlawful, goes beyond any reasonable definition of oversight and, accordingly, exceeds the safe harbor of legislative immunity,” he wrote in the 41-page ruling denying her motions to dismiss the charges. “No genuine legislative purpose was advanced by defendant’s alleged conduct.”

Semper also threw cold water on McIver’s argument that she was selectively prosecuted, when those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were treated differently.

“The Jan. 6 defendants were in fact prosecuted by DOJ before receiving pardons for their crimes," the judge wrote, noting that McIver’s situation was different.

However, Semper, who was appointed in 2023, found the speech or debate clause might apply to one of the three counts: that McIver struck an immigration official after trying to reenter the facility.

Surveillance video shows the deportation officer blocking McIver as she attempted to reenter Delaney Hall following the scrum and then pushing her back into the parking lot. McIver then pushed the officer.

In a footnote, Semper added the officer who pushed McIver could have violated her right to inspect the facility.

Following the spectacle at Delaney Hall, Baraka sued then-U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba over false arrest and later used the notoriety in his campaign for New Jersey governor.

Habba — who had worked as Trump’s personal attorney and represented him in several cases, including the case by New York Attorney General Letitia James — has since been removed as U.S. attorney for the state, though the case is in appeal.

“Although it is apparent that the court gave the motions thoughtful consideration, we believe the decisions are wrong,” attorney Paul Fishman of Arnold & Porter, who represents McIver, said in a statement, reiterating her lawsuit is intended to quash congressional oversight. “It is clear this administration is treating Congresswoman McIver’s actions differently than the actions of those who are on their side.”

Before joining Congress, McIver was president of the Newark City Council for two years and worked in the city’s public schools.

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