A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, that the Justice Department may continue with most of its prosecution against Rep. LaMonica McIver. The New Jersey Democrat faces charges of assaulting an ICE officer during a scuffle last year at the Delaney Hall migrant detention facility in Newark.

The Circuit Court of Appeals rejected McIver’s argument that the physical confrontation was part of her official congressional duties and thus shielded from prosecution. The court instructed a lower court to review one of the three indictment counts but upheld two others, emphasizing that McIver’s visit to the facility was legislative oversight, but the alleged assault was not.

“Count One charges Congresswoman McIver not for conduct relating to her entire visit to Delaney Hall, but for conduct during a specific interaction between her and Victim-1,” wrote Judge Chung, joined by Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee. They applied similar reasoning to the second count.

McIver stated she was at the Newark facility to conduct oversight as a member of Congress, citing a law granting House and Senate members access. The lower court had previously ruled against her, and Judge Chung noted that any appeal on that decision must wait until after trial.

The incident also involved efforts by congressional Democrats to prevent the ouster of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka from the facility.

Sources