Third Circuit judges reject immunity claim in case against Rep. McIver
A panel of the Third Circuit Court upheld the Justice Department's lawsuit against Rep. LaMonica McIver, refusing to dismiss charges of assaulting ICE officers.
In a 2-1 decision, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals declined to toss the Justice Department’s case against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, over alleged assaults on ICE agents during a May 2025 inspection of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. Judges Cindy Chung and Stephanos Bibas concluded that McIver’s claim of legislative immunity fails for two of the three charges, noting that her alleged forearm strikes and forced entry were not part of any protected legislative activity.
The third charge was remanded to a lower court for additional consideration. The ruling affirms a prior district court finding that her intervention in the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka bore no connection to her congressional duties. Judge Thomas Ambro dissented, arguing the decision hampers members’ ability to conduct oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. McIver denounced the verdict as a chilling blow to accountability and vowed to pursue all available options.
Why it matters
The ruling limits a lawmaker's ability to claim immunity for actions taken during oversight visits to federal facilities.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTAll camps report the Third Circuit’s rejection of Rep. McIver’s legislative-immunity claim, but left-leaning coverage highlights the political context, centrist coverage presents the decision plainly, and right-leaning coverage stresses the lack of protected legislative activity.
LEFT
Upholds criminal case against McIver and notes her claim of political motivation
CENTER
States that McIver is not immune from prosecution per the appeals court
RIGHT
Rejects McIver’s immunity claim, emphasizing her actions were not protected legislative activity
The left emphasises
- the appellate judges concluded her actions were "non-legislative"
- McIver argues the prosecution is politically driven by the Trump administration
The right emphasises
- the judges found her alleged forearm strikes and forced entry were not part of any protected legislative activity
- the third charge was remanded for further consideration
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