Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) has put forth a bill aimed at removing three Democratic representatives from their House committee roles due to their involvement in disturbances at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers.
Carter, who is currently campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, proposed this resolution on Tuesday. The representatives—Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Lamonica McQuiver (D-NJ), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ)—are accused of breaking into an ICE facility located at Delaney Hall.
“The radical left seems to have lost their way,” Carter remarked in a post on X. “They seem more focused on breaking into ICE facilities to shield illegal immigrants than on actually serving their constituents. Those three Democrats involved in this incident shouldn’t be on any committee alongside serious lawmakers.”
Carter’s resolution seeks to remove Watson Coleman from the Appropriations Committee, to oust Menendez from the Energy and Commerce Committee, and to take McQuiver off both the Homeland Security Committee and the Small Business Committee.
The U.S. attorney for the New Jersey area, Alina Haba, indicated that her office is “conducting a thorough investigation” into the incident at Delaney Hall which took place on Friday.
Haba explained that Baraka—who was part of the group—had trespassed and ignored multiple warnings from Homeland Security Investigations.
Baraka’s arrest came after he was seen with McQuiver, Watson Coleman, and Menendez. They allegedly protested against a facility that costs “$63 million a year to lease from a private prison company” for federal oversight at Delaney Hall.
In an interview with CNN, Watson Coleman stated that “nothing transpired” and suggested that Democrats were merely “pushed in.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) countered her claims by releasing a video on X, displaying footage of Democratic members appearing to confront law enforcement.
DHS Deputy Chief Tricia McLaughlin stated, “Rushing into detention facilities goes beyond unusual political theatrics; it endangers both our law enforcement personnel and the safety of detainees. Congress members are not above the law and can’t enter these facilities illegally. If they had sought tours legitimately, we would have facilitated that.”
On Friday, DHS clarified that a “group of protesters, including two members of Congress, breached the security gate and entered the detention facility.”
Furthermore, DHS has released images and criminal records of several detainees at Delaney Hall, which include individuals associated with the MS-13 gang and others with extensive felony backgrounds.
