On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) warned against repercussions for his fellow Democrat lawmakers who clashed with federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, last week.
During an exchange with Fox News reporter Chad Pergram, Jeffries repeatedly said “they’ll find out” when pressed what might happen if the House Democrats involved in the incident were to be arrested by federal authorities or get sanctioned.
REPORTER: “What happens if [DHS] were to go and arrest [Democrats who stormed the Newark ICE facility]?”
REP. JEFFRIES: “They’ll find out.” pic.twitter.com/XqEOZjAo1f
— Off The Press (@OffThePress1) May 13, 2025
Jeffries ultimately asserted that it would be a “red line” as the questions persisted. He also took a swipe at Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, who told CNN that arresting the Democrats in question was “definitely on the table,” pending an investigation.
“It’s a red line. It’s very clear,” Jeffries said. “First of all, I think that the so-called Homeland Security spokesperson is a joke. It’s a joke. They know better than to go down that road. And it’s been made loudly and abundantly clear to the Trump administration. We’re not going to be intimidated by their tactics.”
The Daily Wire reported that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who is running for New Jersey governor and is protesting the Delaney Hall facility, was arrested following the security breach last Friday. Alina Habba, the interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, said he “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself from the ICE detention center.”
DHS said two House Democrats who joined Baraka that day — New Jersey Reps. Bonnie Watson-Coleman and Rob Menendez — “stormed the gate and broke into” the facility.
While the New Jersey Democrats insisted they were at Delaney Hall to conduct legitimate supervision, McLaughlin said in a post on X, “Members of Congress cannot break the law in the name of ‘oversight.’ All members & staff need to comply with facility rules, procedures, and instructions from ICE personnel on site. INCLUDING 24 hour notice.”
House Republicans have introduced measures to punish the Democrats involved in the altercation, including a censure resolution against Rep. LaMonica McIver, another lawmaker from New Jersey who was at the protest, and a resolution to strip them of their committee assignments.
On X, Pergram posted that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told a Fox News colleague he believes there “needs to be an appropriate measure taken” as the “video doesn’t lie,” a reference to ICE body-cam footage showing part of the confrontation between the New Jersey Democrats and DHS agents. He added, “I think it was wildly inappropriate for those members to do that and we’ll have to take appropriate action.”
