A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security suggested that more arrests will be made after multiple Democratic lawmakers “stormed” a detention center used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday.
A chaotic scene unfolded at Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, just before the start of the weekend, with Reps. Rob Menendez (D-NY), LaMonica McIver (D-NY), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NY), along with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, storming the ICE prison in protest of immigration policies. Baraka was arrested after he “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations to remove himself” from the scene, according to DHS.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, addressed the incident in a CNN appearance on Saturday, which included a warning that more arrests will be coming.
“Whether you are a civilian, a mayor, or a member of Congress, if you are storming an ICE detention facility and putting law enforcement and detainees at risk, you can bet that we will arrest you and you will face the law. You will face justice. These other members of Congress will as well,” McLaughlin said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
DHS detailed the incident in a press release on Friday. The agency said that as a bus of detainees was entering through the prison gate, protesters, including the House Democrats, “stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility.”
The House Democrats have denied the agency’s characterization of the incident, with Watson Coleman’s office accusing DHS of “blatantly lying” and Menendez casting ICE’s actions to control the protest as an “act of intimidation.”