Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called out three New Jersey Democrats for what she calls a full-blown felony fest—not an “oversight visit”—at an ICE detention facility in Newark. And let’s be real: this wasn’t a surprise check-in. This was political theater with a side of lawbreaking.
“These lawmakers didn’t just cross a line—they plowed through it like a bulldozer,” Noem told Fox News. “This wasn’t oversight. This was committing felonies. This was going out and attacking people who stand up for the rule of law. And it was absolutely horrible.”
The lawmakers in question? Rep. Rob Menendez Jr., Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rep. LaMonica McIver—all Democrats from New Jersey who apparently think the rules don’t apply to them. According to Noem, their behavior wasn’t just reckless—it was dangerous.
“I can’t believe they act like this and then they defend it,” she said, clearly baffled that elected officials would pull a stunt like this and then try to justify it with a straight face.
During a congressional hearing, Noem laid out the chaos: at Delaney Hall Detention Center last Friday, the three reps showed up with a mob of protesters, stormed the security gate, and barged into the facility like it was a TikTok prank gone way too far.
“As a vehicle approached the security gate at Delaney Hall Detention Center, a mob of protestors — including three members of Congress — stormed the gate, and they trespassed into the detention facility,” Noem testified.
And it didn’t stop there. She said there’s actual footage of the lawmakers physically assaulting officers. Yes, you read that right—members of Congress allegedly throwing fists at law enforcement.
“We have footage of those members of Congress slamming their bodies into our law enforcement officers, shoving them, screaming profanities in their faces, striking them with their fists, and otherwise assaulting law enforcement,” she continued.
If that doesn’t scream “lawlessness,” what does?
“The behavior was lawlessness,” she said. “Members of Congress should not break into detention centers or federal facilities.”
Exactly. There are protocols, people. You don’t just bust down the doors of a federal facility like it’s Black Friday at Best Buy. Noem pointed out that if they had just asked for a proper tour like every other responsible adult in Congress, they would’ve gotten one.
“Had these members requested a tour,” she noted, “it would have been facilitated.” She reminded the committee that visits happen “all of the time,” and these representatives know the rules—they just chose to ignore them.
And let’s not forget: this wasn’t a yoga retreat. Noem emphasized that the detainees at this facility include “murderers, rapists, known terrorists, MS-13 gang members, drug traffickers, and other heinous actors.”
So, yeah—maybe not the best place to turn into your personal protest runway.
“I hope that the rest of the members of the House of Representatives will hold them accountable,” Noem said Tuesday. And accountability, in her book, means taking away their committee seats. Especially since one of them, McIver, is literally tasked with overseeing ICE—not assaulting them.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to be on the committees that they’re on — in fact, one of them [McIver] is supposed to be conducting oversight over ICE and instead she’s assaulting them,” Noem said. “They don’t deserve to be in the House. They should be censured by it.”