The Trump administration issued a warning on Saturday to three Democrats, stating that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka had gained notoriety after recent protests at immigration and customs facilities.
“We might see more arrests. In fact, we have footage from body cameras that shows some of these Congress members confronting ICE agents, which includes some aggressive actions toward female personnel,” a representative mentioned. “We’ll share that with our audience soon.”
“This is part of an ongoing investigation and remains a possibility,” they added.
On Friday, New Jersey Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, and Lamonica McQuiber joined Mayor Baraka at Delaney Hall, a GEO Group-operated ICE facility that recently closed.
U.S. Attorney Alina Haba confirmed on Friday that Baraka had been detained, stating, “I personally sought someone from an ICE detention center in New Jersey this afternoon, despite several warnings from Homeland Security investigations.”
“He chose to disregard the law. It’s not permissible in this state. He was taken into custody. No one is above the law,” she further explained on social media.
In response, Baraka accused the Department of Homeland Security of inflating the situation around his arrest on Saturday.
“The truth is, Arena Haba wasn’t present. There was no federal lawyer on-site. She doesn’t fully grasp what actually took place,” he asserted.
“I was there for more than an hour. No one instructed me to leave. Eventually, a Homeland Security official came and escalated the incident. That’s how we reached this point,” he elaborated.
Baraka was released from custody on Friday night.
A video surfaced showing the mayor handcuffed by a Homeland Security official.
Baraka insisted on Saturday, “I didn’t go there to violate the law. I did not break any laws.”
Newark City Councilman Kenyatta Stewart supported Baraka’s account of the visit to Delaney Hall.
“They welcomed him in. The security guard from GEO actually opened the door for him,” Stewart recounted. “Then, while we were waiting for congressional members, they asked him to leave, which he did, and then they arrested him just outside the gate.”
While Congress members are allowed to visit ICE facilities, those rights do not apply to Baraka.
Earlier in the week, he had appeared at a site with construction equipment, attempting to prevent the reopening of the ICE facility, which had previously served as an immigration detention center during the Obama administration.
Baraka argues that the facility is being operated unlawfully, a claim that the owner, GEO Group, denies.
On Saturday, protesters gathered at Foley Square in Manhattan to express their support for Mayor Baraka, an event which included mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani and public advocate Jumane Williams.
