Charges Against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Defeated. Now Trump’s ICE Targeting Rep. LaMonica McIver

By Cameron Orr

Photos: People’s World\YouTube Screenshots

NEWARK, N.J.—In a major victory for democracy, the Trump administration has been forced to drop its trespassing charges against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Intended to chill resistance, the charges were leveled against the mayor following his illegal arrest as punishment for attempting to inspect Delaney Hall, the largest immigrant detention center on the east coast.

On Friday, May 9, Baraka and three local Congressional representatives—Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rob Menendez, Jr.—attempted to enter the facility to check its operations.

With the case against Baraka dropped, Trump has pivoted to filing charges against McIver, a Black woman, for “assaulting” the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who arrested Baraka. As members of Congress, she and the other representatives have the authority to inspect federal facilities or those under contract to the federal government unannounced.

McIver was part of the group that surrounded Baraka at the time of his arrest, placing herself between him and the ICE agent.

“We were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short,” McIver said in a response to the accusations by Trump officials.

“The charges against me are purely political—they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight.… I am thankful for the outpouring of support I have received and I look forward to the truth being laid out clearly in court.”

Delaney Hall, the facility Baraka, McIver, and the others were inspecting, is a private, for-profit immigrant detention center owned by the multi-billion-dollar GEO Group. The private prison corporation began operations illegally without a certificate of occupancy from the City of Newark and in violation of a statewide ban against private detention centers. The latter measure is currently being challenged in the courts….READ MORE