NEWARK — Rep. LaMonica McIver asked a federal appeals court to dismiss the three-count indictment against her on June 24, 2026. McIver argued that her arrest outside a federal immigration detention center interfered with her legislative duties and violated the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.

McIver contended that Trump administration officials targeted her due to her opposition to the administration. Her attorney, Paul Fishman, presented arguments to a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Fishman stated that the government cannot separate the purpose of the visit, which was oversight of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, from the altercation between McIver and ICE officials. "The entire visit was a manifestly legislative act," Fishman said.

Fishman also stated that cases similar to the one against McIver have not been brought for hundreds of years. He urged the judges to consider McIver's claims that she was prosecuted for her opposition to the Trump administration, pointing to remarks from immigration officials who said they were acting on orders from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "They are picking on someone who is a member of Congress who does not agree with their views, so that is the problem," Fishman said.

Officials charged McIver with two felonies and one misdemeanor related to assaulting, resisting, and impeding federal officials outside the facility. Filings in the case indicated that McIver struck federal agents with her forearms and elbows during a scuffle involving Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who accompanied members of Congress on the visit. Judge Jamel K. Semper of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled in January 2026 that the case could proceed, finding that the prosecution could isolate the portion of the visit where McIver and others were outside Delaney Hall.

Mark Coyne, an attorney for the Justice Department, argued that McIver's involvement in the confrontation outside Delaney Hall should not be considered a legislative act. "Use of physical force is never, never covered by the speech or debate clause," Coyne said. The House of Representatives voted against a resolution in September 2025 to censure McIver and remove her from the House's homeland security panel. The House Ethics Committee has an active probe into McIver.