Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., introduced a resolution Tuesday that would strip three New Jersey Democrats of their House committee assignments for their actions last week at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
As a bus of detained illegal immigrants entered the security gate of the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey, on March 9, a group of demonstrators — including Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez Jr., and LaMonica McIver — stormed the gate and entered the site. The lawmakers — along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a fellow Democrat — have been accused of assaulting ICE agents; they say they were there to conduct oversight.
"The radical left has lost their minds — they would rather raid an ICE facility to defend criminal illegal immigrants than represent their own constituents," Carter, who intends to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026, said in a statement. "This behavior constitutes an assault on our brave ICE agents and undermines the rule of law. The three members involved in this stunt do not deserve to sit on committees alongside serious lawmakers."
The resolution would remove Watson Coleman from the Appropriations Committee, McIver from the Homeland Security and Small Business committees, and Menendez, son of disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez, from the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Baraka, who is running to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy in 2026, was arrested and charged with trespassing and accused of ignoring warnings to leave the detention center. He was released later that night. He has been against the 1,000-bed lockup, saying that it should not open because of building permit issues.
"The allegations made by Newark politicians that Delaney does not have the proper permitting are false," DHS said in a statement. "We have valid permits, and inspections for plumbing and electricity, and fire codes have been cleared."
It is unknown whether Carter's resolution will reach the House floor.
Newsmax has reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for comment. Newsmax has also reached out to Watson Coleman, Menendez, and McIver for comment.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.