Pallone Leads Members of New Jersey Delegation in Condemning Retaliation Against Lawmakers Conducting ICE Oversight

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today led members of the New Jersey congressional delegation in a letter condemning efforts to intimidate Members of Congress for exercising their legal authority to oversee immigration detention facilities. The letter was sent just hours ahead of a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight hearing chaired by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) on so-called “threats to ICE operations,” a hearing that is widely seen as an attempt to politicize the oversight visit by New Jersey Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, and LaMonica McIver to the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark on May 9^th.

In their letter to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the New Jersey lawmakers reaffirmed the statutory right of Members of Congress to conduct unannounced inspections of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) facilities – a right that was explicitly confirmed by ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons during a May 14 Congressional hearing. They also denounced threats of arrest and legal action by DHS and the Department of Justice against their colleagues for performing lawful oversight.

Pallone and his colleagues called on the Judiciary Committee to reject these retaliatory efforts and to reaffirm the right of lawmakers to inspect federal facilities without interference or intimidation.

A full copy of the letter is available below:

May 20, 2025

Chairman Jim Jordan

House Committee on the Judiciary

2138 Rayburn HOB

Washington, D.C. 20515

Ranking Member Jamie Raskin
House Committee on the Judiciary

2141 Rayburn HOB

Washington, D.C. 20515

Chairman Jordan and Ranking Member Raskin,

We write in strong support of our New Jersey colleagues – Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, and LaMonica McIver – for the critical oversight they provided at the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey on May 9, 2025. We also strongly condemn efforts by the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Justice (DOJ) to politicize and suppress lawful Congressional oversight through acts of intimidation and threats of legal action against our colleagues.[1] 

Members of Congress have explicit statutory authority to conduct unannounced visits and inspections of DHS detention facilities, which was affirmed by ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons during a May 14 Congressional hearing.[2] These visits provide Members with crucial oversight into the physical condition of facilities, the treatment of those being detained, and the overall operations of ICE in a particular region.

As Members of Congress, we have a duty to ensure the DHS is utilizing taxpayer dollars effectively, and that every person held in U.S. custody, no matter their legal status, is treated humanely and afforded due process. Any attempt to block, delay, or prevent a Member from performing their lawful oversight duties or threatening to arrest them for those purposes is explicitly unlawful. 

We reiterate our support for Representatives Watson Coleman, Menendez, and McIver for upholding their oversight duties as duly elected Members of Congress. We commend their efforts to hold DHS and ICE accountable. And we strongly condemn any efforts by the current Administration to block or intimidate Members of Congress from performing this lawful role.

We hope this letter clarifies the important oversight role every Member of Congress must serve, regardless of which political party holds the White House. The New Jersey delegation will not bow in the face of unlawful threats by this Administration.

Sincerely,

Frank Pallone, Jr.                                                                   Herbert C. Conaway, Jr.
Member of Congress                                                              Member of Congress

Josh Gottheimer                                                                     Donald Norcross
Member of Congress                                                              Member of Congress

Nellie Pou                                                                               Mikie Sherrill

Member of Congress                                                              Member of Congress

Andy Kim                                                                                Cory Booker
United States Senator                                                            United States Senator

Cc: Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Jefferson Van Drew and Ranking Member Jasmine Crockett