Earlier this month, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (NJ-10) and fellow lawmakers conducted a peaceful oversight visit to the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, NJ. What should have been a routine inspection escalated into a disturbing confrontation with armed federal agents, resulting in physical aggression against Rep. McIver and politically motivated charges filed against her.
In response, Higher Heights President and CEO Glynda C. Carr issued the following statement:
“Congresswoman LaMonica McIver was fulfilling the very role her constituents elected her to perform—providing oversight, demanding accountability, and protecting her community. With a troubling increase in unjust ICE arrests and alarming reports about conditions inside detention centers like Delaney Hall, her visit was not only appropriate but urgently necessary.
These facilities disproportionately incarcerate Black and Brown immigrants under inhumane conditions. Elected officials have both the right and responsibility to investigate these injustices. Charging Congresswoman McIver is not an act of justice; it is a political effort to criminalize oversight, intimidate a Black woman leader, and shield federal agencies from public accountability. We will not accept this.
Let it be clear: Congresswoman McIver, along with Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez, was lawfully exercising her constitutional duty when visiting a federally operated facility in her district. Her presence was necessary and justified. What followed was an appalling display of aggression and authoritarianism—masked, militarized officers intimidating officials, physical contact that Rep. McIver described as assault, and now baseless charges designed to discourage elected leaders from performing their duties.
This incident extends beyond Congresswoman McIver. It signals a dangerous precedent where Black women leaders, standing up for their communities, face being shoved, shouted down, and prosecuted. It is part of a persistent history of harsher policing of Black bodies, dismissal of Black voices, and hostility toward Black leadership rather than respect.
The Department of Justice may attempt to cloak these charges under the banner of law and order, but it is clear to us as an abuse of power aimed at silencing a Congresswoman who dared to speak out. If a lawmaker can be charged for visiting a detention center, what message does that send to everyday people fighting for their rights and dignity?
This moment transcends a single charge or a single facility. It is about defending the right to resist and demanding accountability—not just from ICE and private detention centers but from a system that uses fear, force, and falsehoods to suppress the people’s representatives.
We are unafraid, undeterred, and unapologetic. We will not be silenced.
We call on our community to stay alert, raise your voice, and exercise your power—especially by organizing, mobilizing, and voting. What happened in Newark is not isolated; it is a warning that must be met with determined action.
As the political home for Black women, Higher Heights stands firmly with Congresswoman McIver. We stand with every Black woman who refuses to back down in the face of injustice. We will not allow this or any administration to normalize violence against those who hold power accountable.”
