Big Update in Case On House Democrat Charged With Striking ICE Agent
A Biden-appointed federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to scrub multiple social media posts criticizing Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), who faces felony charges for allegedly assaulting federal immigration officers at a New Jersey detention facility earlier this year.
The case stems from a May 9 incident at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark, where McIver was accused of physically attacking federal ICE agents during what was described as a “congressional visit.” The congresswoman has pleaded not guilty to a three-count federal indictment that could carry up to 17 years in prison if convicted.
Despite video evidence showing McIver pushing and striking a federal officer, she and her legal team claim the charges are politically motivated and violate the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which provides certain legal immunities to members of Congress for official acts.
Following the altercation, DHS published several statements and posts on X (formerly Twitter) condemning the congresswoman’s behavior and defending law enforcement officers stationed at the facility. One post read:
“Delaney Hall Detention Center houses the WORST OF THE WORST! This stunt by sanctuary lawmakers puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk.”
Another DHS post stated:
“What happened on May 9 at Delaney Hall was not oversight. It was a political stunt that put the safety of our law enforcement agents, our staff, and our detainees at risk. This behavior was lawless, and it was beneath this body. Members of Congress are not above the law.”
However, after Judge Jamel Semper, appointed to the bench by President Biden, intervened, DHS was instructed to remove all public statements and posts related to McIver while her case proceeds.
According to a legal filing from U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the department has now complied:
“As of this afternoon, the posts referenced in Defense Exhibits N through U have been removed,” Blanche wrote on October 30, noting that one post — belonging to a private journalist — remained online because “the Government lacks the authority to remove the post.”
The order followed an October 21 hearing in which both sides argued over whether the Biden administration’s public criticism of McIver violated her right to a fair trial. Judge Semper reportedly expressed concern that the DHS’s online commentary could “taint a future jury pool” by prejudicing potential jurors against the congresswoman.
Eight days after the order, however, McIver’s attorney Lee Cortes accused DHS of failing to fully comply, writing to the court on November 6:
“Even with the additional time, DHS again has failed to remove all of the public statements that Congresswoman McIver brought to the government’s and the Court’s attention.”
Cortes also requested that the court issue sanctions should DHS continue to make what he called “extrajudicial statements” about the ongoing case.
“DHS has slow-walked the removal of clearly prejudicial statements, issued new ones, and continued to maintain others on its website,” he wrote. “Without a further order from the Court, Congresswoman McIver will be forced to continue ‘playing Whac-A-Mole’ with government officials saying things that have absolutely no connection to the indictment.”
While Judge Semper has not yet ruled on McIver’s motion to dismiss the charges, his rebuke of DHS’s conduct marks a rare instance of a Biden-appointed judge siding with a Democrat lawmaker against the Biden administration itself — raising questions about the White House’s internal handling of politically sensitive prosecutions.
The case has become a flashpoint in the broader national debate over accountability for public officials, federal transparency, and the weaponization of government agencies — a theme President Donald J. Trump’s administration has made central to its reform agenda.