Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) made a recent appearance on the MS NOW program, “The Beat,” where he gave a defense of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), who was charged with forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers outside the Delaney Hall Federal Immigration Facility located in the city of Newark. Officers were attempting to arrest an individual when McIver, along with two other members of Congress tried to get involved.
The incident occurred on May 9, 2025. McIver and her colleagues were at the facility to conduct a congressional oversight inspection. The inspection took place during a tense immigration protest rally. The mayor showed up at the facility and was given access to a secured area. An officer told the mayor he was not authorized to be in that part of the facility and told him several times he would be arrested if he didn’t leave immediately.
McIver and her colleagues overheard the conversation and proceeded to challenge the officer, protesting against the mayor’s removal. When officers moved in to arrest the mayor, the delegation surrounded him and prevented the officers from fulfilling their duty and apprehending him. After the mayor was escorted outside of the secured area, law enforcement tried a second time to take him into custody.
According to a press release from the Justice Department, someone that was participating in the protest yelled, “circle the mayor.” McIver then turned to face the mayor and placed her arms around him to prevent him from being arrested. As this continued to unfold, McIver slammed her forearm into one of the law enforcement officers and tried to restrain the officer by grabbing him.
She then used her forearms to strike a second officer. If she is convicted of her crime, she faces a maximum penalty of 8 years behind bars. She could also face an additional year in prison for another count. However, according to Booker, McIver was just “doing her job” during the incident and the case should be tossed out.
“A couple things. First of all, this hits home with me more than ever because I have LaMonica McGiver, a congresswoman that represents the city of Newark. She’s going to trial soon on again a case that should have never been brought for her doing her job at Delaney Hall. Something you’ve covered a lot,” Booker said during the interview.
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This isn’t the first time Booker has defended McIver’s violent and aggressive behavior. These charges are clearly unfounded. Representative McIver was exercising her legally protected authority as a member of Congress to conduct oversight of a detention center that receives millions of taxpayer dollars. Federal officials unnecessarily escalated what should have been a run-of-the-mill inspection of the facility,” Booker said in a statement a few days after the incident occurred.
“In fact, Representative McIver’s actions were so unremarkable that she was invited back inside to finish her tour that day, after these events took place. Pursuing this case against Representative McIver will divert considerable resources away from serious matters of public safety. The Department of Justice should drop these charges immediately,” the New Jersey Democrat added.
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