The mayor of Newark was arrested for criminal trespass last week after he and other Democrats attempted to enter an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

The incident was recently highlighted by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, who suggested that those involved could face felony charges. 

Noem says lawmakers were "attacking people who stand up for the rule of law"

Breitbart noted that although New Jersey Democratic Reps. Rob Menendez Jr., Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Rep. LaMonica McIver have since claimed to have been performing congressional oversight, Noem rejected their excuse.

"This wasn’t oversight," she told Fox News. "This was committing felonies. This was going out and attacking people who stand up for the rule of law. And it was absolutely horrible."

We will not tolerate assault against our ICE law enforcement agents. By members of Congress or anyone else. pic.twitter.com/P1AIV2DXap

— Tricia McLaughlin (@TriciaOhio) May 10, 2025

"I can’t believe they act like this and then they defend it," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary went on to state.

"The behavior was lawlessness"

"I hope that the rest of the members of the House of Representatives will hold them accountable," she continued, saying the lawmakers should be stripped of their committee assignments.

Breitbart reported that Noem reiterated her message while testifying before members of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

"We have footage of those members of Congress slamming their bodies into our law enforcement officers, shoving them, screaming profanities in their faces, striking them with their fists, and otherwise assaulting law enforcement," Noem asserted on Thursday.

"The behavior was lawlessness," the secretary said of Menendez, Coleman, and McIver before adding that "members of Congress should not break into detention centers or federal facilities."

DHS official threatens Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with arrest

Meanwhile, the Daily Caller reported that Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin issued a warning to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) after she expressed support for Coleman.

"If she trespasses and if she assaults law enforcement officers, as we saw earlier, I think that’s certainly on the table," McLaughlin said during a Monday appearance on Fox Business's "The Bottom Line."

"As far as we’ve heard, a lot of Democrats make the argument that they’re just conducting oversight, congressional oversight," she continued.

"We know that’s baloney because had they asked us, had they requested a tour, David, we would have happily facilitated that for them as well," McLaughlin further insisted.