Newark mayor arrested as Dem Congress members storm New Jersey ICE prison to conduct 'oversight visit'

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Congresswoman bulls way through ICE agents at detention facility

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., is spotted in a video shared by the Department of Homeland Security pushing through officials in an apparent attempt to break into a secure ICE facility Friday in Newark, N.J. (Credit: @DHSgov / X)

The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, was arrested Friday at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility where three members of Congress also stormed the facility's gate, demanding they be allowed to conduct an "oversight visit."

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a top Democratic gubernatorial candidate, was arrested at the scene for trespassing, before being released hours later.

"They treated me pretty well, so a lot of respect for those guys in there, but at the end of the day, we didn't do anything wrong," he said. "This should not have happened today, but it did and it's just an example of you know, the work that we have to do."

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Earlier, a crowd, including several lawmakers, gathered outside the HSI Newark Field Office where Baraka was being held Friday evening. The group chanted, yelled and banged on the gate, calling for Baraka's release.

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During his brief detention, several politicians joined the growing calls for Baraka to be released.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., described Baraka's arrest as "disturbing, unnecessary and indicative of tactics that are undermining the safety and security of our communities, not adding to it."

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said he was "outraged by the unjust arrest." He noted that he had signed a law four years ago that banned private immigration detention centers in the state. Last week, the state defended the law before a federal appeals court. 

Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Baraka a friend who encouraged him to fight for change in his community. 

Amina Baraka, mother of Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, hugs Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., outside an ICE office after her son's arrest on Friday in Newark, N.J.? (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

"His arrest today is an example of how the federal government's overreach continues to undermine due process afforded by our Constitution," Johnson said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Bob Hugin, chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party, called Baraka's actions a "stunt," noting that he had ignored repeated warnings from authorities. 

"He's not a mayor – he's running for governor, and this stunt shows exactly what kind of leader he'd be: one who puts political theater ahead of public safety and the rule of law," Hugin said. 

The White House also criticized Democrats over their defense of deported illegal immigrant criminals. 

"As always, Democrats are prioritizing the welfare of illegal aliens over American citizens - except now they're crossing the line between meaningless political street theatre and outright breaking the law," White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital.

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Earlier in the day, U.S. Reps. Rob Menendez Jr., Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver, all New Jersey Democrats, entered ICE's Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark and were held up inside the first checkpoint, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News.

"These members of Congress storming into a detention facility goes beyond bizarre political stunt and puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and the detainees at risk," a DHS statement to Fox News said. "Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities. Had these members requested a tour, we would have facilitated a tour of the facility."

The three lawmakers were outside the facility with a group of protesters when the gates opened to allow an ICE bus in. The lawmakers then rushed through the gates and past security, DHS said.

Members of Congress storm ICE detention facility in New Jersey. (X / @RepBonnie)

In a press conference later, Coleman said that ICE was "out of control." McIver said the three lawmakers had waited more than two hours to gain access to the facility to conduct an oversight visit. She said all three of them were also assaulted by ICE personnel.

"There are people who are supposed to be officers, who are supposed to protect us, and they have done none of that," Mclver told reporters. "If they can treat three members of Congress like that, just imagine how they can treat people on the street each and everyday, both undocumented and people who are citizens here in this country."

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Menendez, the son of disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said ICE officers at the facility performed an "act of intimidation" on Friday. 

"We know what ICE has been doing in our communities. We know that the president lied and that this administration lies every day when they're saying they're going after criminals. It's not true," Menendez said through tears. "They feel no weight of the law. They feel no restraint in what they should be doing, and that was shown in broad daylight today when they not just arrested the mayor of Newark, but when they put their hands on two members of Congress."

Activists have demanded entry into the facility in recent days, saying the GEO Group, the building’s new owner, is unlawfully preventing it from being inspected. 

"We're not asking for anything that's incorrect. We ask them to obey our laws," Baraka said. "To obey the policies and rules here in the city and the state of New Jersey, not to run roughshod over the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Fourteenth Amendment, and everybody on this soil who deserves due process."

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Members of Congress bust into ICE detention facility in New Jersey. (X / @RepBonnie)

McIver said the "lack of transparency around what’s happening with ICE in this facility is unacceptable. People deserve dignity and we need answers."

The prison currently holds alleged killers, MS-13 gang members and child rapists, among other criminal offenders. 

In a press conference on Monday, Baraka said GEO Group is "following the pattern of the president of the United States, who believes that he can just do what he wants to do and obscure the laws, national and constitutional laws, and they think they can do the same thing in the state of New Jersey and in Newark."

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A lawsuit filed on behalf of the City of Newark on April 1 alleges that GEO Group failed to permit entry to safety inspectors and violated city construction code, including by conducting electrical and plumbing renovations without proper oversight.

The Department of Homeland Security said the allegations by Newark politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting is false. 

"We have valid permits and inspection from plumbing, electricity to fire codes has been cleared," the agency said. 

Fox News Digital's Max Bacall contributed to this report.