Several New Jersey Democrats claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents got “rough” with them on Friday, but body-cam footage told a very different story.
The incident unfolded outside Delaney Hall, a detention facility housing criminal illegal aliens in Newark, New Jersey, as several House Democrats (New Jersey Reps. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Rob Menendez) pushed past security and demanded access to and oversight of the facility.
According to reports, the protesters waited outside the gate until it was opened for a vehicle transporting detainees, at which point they rushed through the gate. Democratic Newark Mayor Ras Baraka also participated in the breach and was arrested.
On Saturday, after the Garden State Democrats claimed that they’d been manhandled and roughed up by the ICE agents, the Justice Department released body-cam footage of the clash between protesters and officers.
WATCH:
NEW: DHS has provided @FoxNews ICE bodycam video from the altercation at the Delaney Hall detention facility yesterday. They say the video clearly shows @RepLaMonica (red clothing) shoving/elbowing her way past a DHS agent to get past the gate and into the property, followed… pic.twitter.com/GOAKm6U80W
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 10, 2025
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin explained what was shown in the body-cam footage:
“NEW: DHS has provided @FoxNews ICE bodycam video from the altercation at the Delaney Hall detention facility yesterday,” Melugin posted via X. “They say the video clearly shows @RepLaMonica (red clothing) shoving/elbowing her way past a DHS agent to get past the gate and into the property, followed behind by @RepMenendez & that it also shows Congresswoman McIver screaming in the faces of DHS agents.”
“The members of Congress claim they were assaulted and ‘roughed up’ during the incident, and deny DHS’ characterization that they ‘stormed’ the facility,” he added.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons joined “Fox & Friends: Weekend” on Saturday to discuss the incident, and he praised the agents on the ground for doing their jobs despite the ongoing protests and opposition from lawmakers.
WATCH:
"I'd like very much for someone to say thank you": Todd Lyons says ICE agents he put their lives on the line to detain public safety threats held at this New Jersey center pic.twitter.com/tjeMBN0VWT
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) May 10, 2025
“I’d like very much for someone to say thank you,” Lyons said.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who is also campaigning to be New Jersey’s next governor, has been protesting the ICE detention center since before it even opened. Earlier in the week, he had city officials park a bulldozer in front of the gate, blocking access to the facility.