U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver: A Sister Battles the Trump Administration
She is just a sister from Newark’s Central Ward, whose interest in politics began in 2014 while handing out posters for then city council candidate, Ras J. Baraka, who had been her fifth-grade teacher.
Never in her wildest imagination could LaMonica McIver have foreseen becoming a political target of Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for what she describes as “doing her job” as a first-term legislator for New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District.
McIver’s extensive legal and financial struggles stem from an unannounced, but authorized, oversight inspection Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Newark, along with Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who asserted his authority to safety inspections of all buildings in the city, also sought admission. He initially was only allowed inside the gates of Delaney Hall, operated by The GEO Group, and waited for 40 minutes before being told to leave. He complied.
The New Jersey Globe reported, “… officials then followed Baraka to the gates of the facility, where a number of protesters had gathered, and arrested the mayor …” A scuffle ensued when ICE agents arrested him for “trespassing.” In the chaos, McIver was hemmed in by protestors, legislators, and ICE officials.
Eventually, the delegation was allowed inside the facility. In a video clip of the May 5 visit, McIver paces around the center’s vestibule, demanding to know how long they must wait to tour the facility. Seemingly, unwilling to proceed without authorization, a detention staffer said, “I’m waiting. I’m waiting.”
Frustrated, McIver responds: “Makes no sense. “We go to all these other locations, and we never have a problem when we get here, with this drama, till we get here to Delaney Hall. Man, you know it’s some bullcrap …”
President Trump has described McIver’s assertiveness as “out of control,” According to the New York Times(NYT), House Republicans “denounced her conduct, trying and failing to censure her and declare that her actions ‘do not reflect credibly on the House.’”
In the aftermath of the visit, the DOJ issued “a three-count indictment today for forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers. Federal prosecutors allege she “slammed her forearm into (the body of a uniformed agent) … reached out and tried to restrain (him) … pushed an ICE agent” and struck him.
She has an appeal pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; oral arguments are scheduled for June 23, 2026.
TH!RD Act, published by Third Act New Jersey, questioned the government’s actions. “No officer was injured in the incident. Video recordings of the scene suggest that it was simply a chaotic jumble of jostling crowds and frightened participants….
“Many observers have speculated that the real reason the Congresswoman is being targeted is that she is a prominent woman of color, and a perceived political enemy.”
Who is LaMonica McIver?
In May 2025, the NYT wrote: “The oldest of four children, with a mother who struggled with addiction, Ms. McIver, 38, said she had no choice but to grow up fast and strong.
“I have had to be a leader for a very long time,’ she said. Her mother, now sober for 15 years, has worked for her at City Hall and is among her closest aides.”
McIver, the first in her family to go to college, has a degree in English literature from Bloomfield College and a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy from Seton Hall University.
She is married and has one daughter.
Due to the indictment, McIver has accrued massive legal debt, estimated to reach as much as one million dollars, and continues to fight to have charges dropped with little support from fellow House members.
“We were begging members for support and they were like, “Who are you?” Some colleagues, however, donated some of their campaign money to help defray legal costs. Now, they primarily offer moral support.
In addition to fulfilling legislative duties, McIver spends more than 20 hours a week with her lawyers, as well as fundraising to cover legal expenses. (House ethics’ rules forbid accepting pro bono help.) She sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Small Business as well several caucuses.
She has laid off campaign staff (for her 2026 re-election campaign) and relies on volunteers.
Is the McIver indictment another Trump attack against powerful Black women?
Trump has, in fact, waged war on several Black women in government since the beginning of his second term. Among them are Lisa Cook , the first Black woman on the Federal Board of Governors, who was charged with mortgage fraud; New York Attorney General Letitia James, who won a civil investigation lawsuit against Trump; Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani T. Willis, who led a criminal prosecution (later dismissed) against Trump.
Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the National Labor Relations Board, was terminated in January 2025, and Dr. Carla Hayden, former Librarian of Congress, the first Black woman to hold the post, was terminated in May 2025.
McIver Warns
In an interview on MSNOW, Mc Iver said, “I need way more help. I need way more resources and assistance ... While I am up against the administration, it is bigger than (me). If they can get away with doing this to me … (it) speaks volumes to for other members of Congress, both Republican … and Democrat, because … you’ll have … an executive branch that will be able to use the Department of Justice to stop us from doing our job … and taking away the voice of the people.”
To contribute to her fundraising, visit ACTBlue.
Photo: Courtesy of Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives (wikimediacommons)
