GOP Lawmaker Seeks Removal of Three Democrats from House Committees Following Detention Center Incident
A Republican congressman is seeking to oust three Democratic representatives from their House committee assignments following allegations that they forcibly entered a federal detention facility in New Jersey in what has been described as a protest in support of undocumented immigrants.
Representative Buddy Carter, a Republican from Georgia, introduced a resolution on Tuesday calling for the removal of Representatives Robert Menendez, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and LaMonica McIver, all Democrats from New Jersey, from their respective committee positions.
The controversy stems from an incident where the New Jersey Democrats, along with other demonstrators, reportedly entered the Delaney Hall Detention Center after its gates were opened to receive a bus carrying detainees.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has accused the lawmakers of unlawfully entering the facility and jeopardizing the safety of both law enforcement personnel and detainees in what they characterized as a publicity stunt.
Conversely, the involved lawmakers and their supporters assert that they were fulfilling their constitutional duty and have accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents of physically assaulting McIver and Watson Coleman.
Representative Carter, in a statement to Fox News Digital regarding his proposed legislation, stated that the Democratic representatives had lost their minds and prioritize defending "criminal illegal immigrants" over representing their constituents. He further argued that their actions constitute an assault on ICE agents and an affront to the rule of law, rendering them unfit to serve on committees alongside serious lawmakers.
The resolution put forth by Representative Carter aims to remove Representative Watson Coleman from the House Appropriations Committee, Representative Menendez from the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and Representative McIver from the House committees on Small Business and Homeland Security.
Representative Carter’s office is currently engaged in efforts to garner support for the resolution among House Republicans.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday evening, the three Democratic representatives denounced the resolution as a diversionary tactic aimed at distracting from Republican efforts to repeal healthcare for millions of Americans and cut programs that strengthen communities. They defended their actions by asserting their legal right as Members of Congress to conduct oversight at any DHS detention facility without prior notice, which they claim they were doing. They said that they were committed to continuing to do their jobs for New Jerseyans.
Following the incident on Friday, DHS released a statement condemning the lawmakers’ actions, describing them as a "bizarre political stunt" that endangered law enforcement agents and detainees. The agency emphasized that members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities, adding that the lawmakers would have been granted a tour of the facility had they requested one.
The Democratic representatives have disputed the Republican characterization of the incident. Representative Watson Coleman dismissed the notion that they stormed a heavily guarded federal detention center as absurd and labeled it more lies from the most dishonest administration in history.
Representative McIver echoed the sentiment, pointing to ICE’s own website as evidence of their right to conduct oversight. She expressed concern over the alleged manhandling of herself and her colleagues, as well as the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
Democratic leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have rallied in defense of the three representatives. Jeffries condemned the Trump administration’s attempt to intimidate the public and vowed that the concerns of elected officials regarding the detention facility would not be silenced. He called for the immediate identification of the masked agents who allegedly physically accosted the Congresswomen and demanded that any trumped-up charges against Mayor Baraka be dropped.
The incident and the subsequent calls for disciplinary action have further inflamed partisan tensions in the House of Representatives, with both sides staking out firm positions on the issue of immigration enforcement and congressional oversight. The resolution introduced by Representative Carter is likely to face a contentious debate and vote in the House, with the outcome potentially shaping the balance of power on key committees and influencing the broader political discourse on immigration policy.
The accusations of a "storming" of the detention facility and the subsequent counter-accusations of assault and intimidation highlight the deep divisions and heightened rhetoric surrounding immigration policy in the United States. The incident serves as a reminder of the complex legal, ethical, and political issues at stake in the ongoing debate over immigration enforcement, border security, and the treatment of undocumented immigrants.
