Several posts on X made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) referencing a May incident at the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in New Jersey, in which U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver was charged with assaulting federal immigration officers, have been removed following an order from Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper.
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) was charged in May with assaulting federal immigration officers during a congressional visit to the Delaney Hall immigrant detention center in Newark.
McIver has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.
McIver argued that the charges violate the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause and are politically motivated, though she was seen on video physically pushing and striking a federal ICE agent.
After the May incident, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued several statements and social media posts criticizing Rep. McIver and other Democratic lawmakers who visited the Delaney Hall facility that day.
In response, McIver’s legal team filed a motion seeking to prohibit the government from making what they described as “extrajudicial statements” that could prejudice the ongoing legal proceedings, according to the New Jersey Globe. The motion cited eight posts on X and one official press release as examples,
“As of this afternoon, the posts referenced in Defense Exhibits N through U have been removed,” U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche noted in a legal filing dated October 30, Newsweek reported. “The post referenced in Defense Exhibit V, however, remains available on X.com, as it appears to be controlled by a journalist and private citizen, and the Government lacks the authority to remove the post.”
The development follows a hearing held on October 21, during which Judge Semper heard arguments from both the Department of Justice and McIver’s legal team. At that time, the court directed the government to remove the posts and provide an update within a week.
However, eight days later, the Department of Justice had not complied, according to a November 6 letter from McIver’s attorney, Lee Cortes, to the judge, Newsweek added.
” … [E]ven with the additional time, DHS again has failed to remove all of the public statements that Congresswoman McIver brought to the government’s and the Court’s attention,” Cortes wrote in the letter.
Cortes went on to ask the court to issue sanctions if the DHS were to post such statements about McIver again.
“DHS has slow-walked the removal of clearly prejudicial statements, issued new ones, and continued to maintain others on its website. Without a further order from the Court, Congresswoman McIver will be forced to continue ‘play[ing] Whac-A-Mole’ with ‘government officials’…saying things that have absolutely no connection to the indictment,” Cortes noted, according to Newsweek.
One of the posts from DHS that was removed stated: “Delaney Hall Detention Center houses the WORST OF THE WORST! This stunt by sanctuary lawmakers puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and detainees at risk.”
Another post referenced McIver: “What happened on May 9 at Delaney Hall was not oversight. It was a political stunt that put the safety of our law enforcement agents, our staff, and our detainees at risk. This behavior was lawless, and it was beneath this body. Members of Congress are not above the law.”
McIver appeared in federal court last month as she continued to fight a three-count indictment accusing her of impeding and interfering with federal officers at the Newark, N.J., ICE detention facility in May.
Semper did not rule on McIver’s motion to dismiss the charges but raised concerns about Department of Homeland Security statements online referencing the incident.
The judge said it was prejudicial for “fact-free” social media posts from government officials to remain public while McIver’s case is pending, warning they could taint a future jury pool
The FBI executed search warrants at eight locations across the Twin Cities, targeting five service providers accused of billing Medicaid for services that were either not provided or grossly misrepresented. Authorities say the alleged schemes exploited a program meant to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
Governor Walz, who has been outspoken on the issue of fraud in Minnesota’s social programs, stressed that his administration is working closely with federal authorities.
“If you’re going to commit these crimes in Minnesota, you are going to get caught,” Walz said in an interview with WCCO last month.
He added that new oversight mechanisms have been implemented, including the appointment of a new Inspector General and updated tools to detect Medicaid abuse. However, he admitted that the state still needs more advanced resources to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated fraud schemes.
“I wish we would have gotten a little more out of this legislative session,” Walz noted. “There are AI tools out there that could help us detect fraud earlier and prevent it from happening in the first place.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson confirmed that Minnesota is facing a serious and systemic fraud problem, echoing concerns raised by his predecessor, Andrew Luger. Thompson said the generosity of Minnesota’s safety-net programs can make them a target for abuse.
“The Housing Stabilization Services program has proven to be extremely vulnerable to fraud,” Thompson said, emphasizing that investigators will continue to follow the evidence wherever it leads.
The targeted locations reportedly included facilities in
St. Paul and Roseville, as well as other sites in the Twin Cities metro area. Officials have not yet named the providers under investigation, but court filings indicate a pattern of fraudulent billing practices that could have siphoned off millions in taxpayer dollars.