Rep. McIver joins rare group who have given birth in Congress
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., announced the arrival of her daughter this week, boosting the ranks of congresswomen who have given birth in office. It’s still a small group — just 14 others have given birth to children while serving as sitting members of Congress, according to the House historian’s office. The announcement, which she posted Thursday on social media alongside a picture of her holding a swaddled newborn, comes amid an ongoing legal battle. She faces up to 17 years in prison … Continue Reading
October 01, 2026
Rep. LaMonica McIver Gives Birth as Trump’s Justice Department Threatens Her with 17 Years in Prison Over ICE Incident
Rep. LaMonica McIver, 40, gave birth to her second child, a healthy baby girl, on Thursday, Oct. 1, her office said in a statement. The birth comes as McIver faces prosecution by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, which alleges she assaulted federal officers outside a New Jersey immigration detention facility in May 2025. Federal prosecutors have sought to portray the Democratic congresswoman as violent and “out of control.” “Being a mom is one of the greatest joys of my life, and … Continue Reading
October 01, 2026
‘She’s here!’: Rep. LaMonica McIver welcomes baby girl amid federal legal battle
Rep. LaMonica McIver has welcomed her second child, becoming the first New Jersey member of Congress to give birth while serving in office. The birth announcement comes months after she revealed her pregnancy following years of fertility challenges. McIver previously discussed her pregnancy and federal prosecution in an interview with TheGrio, while an earlier story covered her May announcement that her family was growing. In a Facebook post shared Oct. 1, McIver announced that she had … Continue Reading
September 24, 2026
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver is eight months pregnant and — after a skirmish with ICE — facing 17 years in jail
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver hasn’t put her life on hold to fight what she sees as totally unfounded charges by the Trump administration that she supposedly assaulted a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a protest last year. Instead, the first-term Democratic congresswoman is expecting her second child next month, she’s up for reelection in November, and because of Congress’ backward policies on parental leave (as in, there are none), she continues to put in long hours … Continue Reading
September 18, 2026
LaMonica McIver’s case for turning Black women’s resilience into power
Rep. LaMonica McIver has had plenty to celebrate at this year’s Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference. The New Jersey Democrat is expecting her second child any day now. And this week, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), a mentor to McIver who will retire at the end of her term, helped pass another responsibility to the next generation: McIver will become a co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls next Congress. But when McIver gathered … Continue Reading
September 03, 2026
This Congresswoman Is 8 Months Pregnant. She Could Spend 17 Years in Prison.
I have a beautiful 10-year-old daughter. It feels like she’s 10 going on 50, and I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I gave birth to this beautiful soul of mine. I was 30 years old at the time and had a great job as a school administrator for Willingboro Public Schools in New Jersey. So when I got pregnant, I decided I was going to buy a home and do all of the things needed to prepare for this new human. But the truth is nothing prepares you perfectly for being a mom under the most normal … Continue Reading
September 03, 2026
Laura Loomer faces backlash again after racist, sexist attacks against Rep. LaMonica McIver
Far-right conservative extremist and ally of President Donald Trump, Laura Loomer, again used a racist and sexist term to attack a prominent Black female Democrat—this time U.S. Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.). “LaMonica McIver is another ghetto black communist b—h who doesn’t belong in Congress,” Loomer wrote in an X post on Wednesday evening. Referring to the indictment of McIver by the Trump Justice Department, which has been slammed as politically motivated, Loomer continued, … Continue Reading
August 26, 2026
Rep. LaMonica McIver isn’t just fighting for reelection — she’s fighting for freedom
Most members of Congress are staring at one key date on the calendar: November 3, Election Day. But Rep. LaMonica McIver is much more focused on two important dates she can’t control or predict. The first-term New Jersey Democrat is scheduled to give birth to her second child in about a month. And now, in the wake of a Wednesday ruling by a federal appeals court, she’s waiting to know when another big event will happen: a federal trial in a case that will determine not only whether McIver … Continue Reading
August 26, 2026
Judges Reject Plea to Toss Federal Charges Against Democratic Lawmaker
A federal appeals panel ruled on Wednesday that the U.S. Constitution does not bar the Trump administration from bringing an assault charge against a Democratic member of Congress, reaffirming the limits of a protection that shields federal lawmakers from certain prosecutions. Representative LaMonica McIver of New Jersey was accused last May by an ally of President Trump of using her forearms to push immigration agents during a frenetic clash that month outside a troubled migrant detention … Continue Reading
August 07, 2026
Rep. LaMonica McIver opens up about pregnancy, prosecution and a fight she says is bigger than herself
When U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) dreamed of expanding her family, she never imagined that she’d be simultaneously fighting for her freedom in federal court. “It is just crazy to me that I can be going through this, and this is okay, and I was doing my job as a member of Congress,” she says during an extended interview with theGrio about her more than one-year-long legal battle. McIver, who is expecting her second child in the fall, is facing 17 years in prison in a case brought by the … Continue Reading
August 05, 2026
Death shows Delaney ‘not adequate’ in emergency, McIver says
An immigrant died in a “tragic, emergency experience” because Delaney Hall is not equipped to treat individuals with serious chronic disease, according to Rep. LaMonica McIver. Edwin Jeovanny Lopez-Cornejo, who was detained at Delaney Hall in Newark, suffered a medical emergency on Aug. 1 and died at University Hospital. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in a press release, said “while in custody, Lopez-Cornejo received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals.” A native … Continue Reading
June 19, 2026
Juneteenth Is a Reminder That Progress Is Never Absolute
The path to liberation does not run through comfort. That much has always been true. In some tellings, as the Pharaoh’s army chased Moses towards the Red Sea, a member of the tribe had to wade nearly up to their chin in the raging waters before Moses raised his staff and the sea split in two. Despite not knowing how to swim, Harriet Tubman plunged into the waterways of Maryland’s Eastern Shore to help others escape their bondage. Staring down billy clubs and snarling dogs, John Lewis and … Continue Reading
June 04, 2026
Rep. LaMonica McIver's fight to close controversial Delaney Hall ICE Facility
Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) speaks to the Hill about the ongoing protests happening at Delaney Hall in Newark, as well as her ongoing legal fight against federal criminal charges related to an ICE oversight … Continue Reading
June 03, 2026
McIver Gives Mullin a Delaney Hall to-do List
U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-10) this morning at a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing let Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin have it, accusing him of guard towering a weaponized immigration system for the President's racist grievances. "Three-hundred detainees sent an SOS letter about the torturous conditions inside Delaney Hall," McIver told Mullin. "I have spoken to these people. I have seen them with my own eyes." She outlined accounts by detainees of green, rotten … Continue Reading
May 18, 2026
One Congresswoman’s Scary Yearlong Fight for Justice After Standing Up to ICE
It’s been just over a year since Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ), a sitting member of Congress, showed up to Delaney Hall, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, to do her job. Members of Congress have the statutory right to conduct unannounced oversight visits at ICE detention centers across the country, and McIver had done it before. But this time was different. Things turned chaotic. ICE flooded the facility with agents. The mayor of Newark, Ras … Continue Reading
May 15, 2026
Rep. LaMonica McIver Reveals She's Pregnant as She Faces 17 Years in Prison Over ICE Incident (Exclusive)
Rep. LaMonica McIver is in the midst of one of the biggest fights of her life. Charged with assaulting federal officers outside a New Jersey immigration detention facility last spring, the first-term Democratic lawmaker is up against President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has sought over the past year to paint McIver as violent and “out of control.” If convicted, McIver — who is 17 weeks pregnant — could spend up to 17 years in prison. The New Jersey Democrat shared her … Continue Reading
May 12, 2026
Lawmaker pushes for more ICE oversight after indictment for visit
She came to the detention facility to examine the conditions for the detainees inside — not to end up with the threat of years behind bars herself. One year and three federal charges later, the life of 39-year-old Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey) — a defendant in a legal battle that could redefine how members of Congress do their jobs — would be unrecognizable to the woman who showed up at a federal migrant detention facility in her district on the afternoon of May 9, 2025. On Tuesday, … Continue Reading
April 03, 2026
House Democrat Wages a Lonely Legal Fight Testing Congress’s Power
In the year since the Justice Department charged her with assaulting immigration agents outside an ICE detention facility in Newark, Representative LaMonica McIver, Democrat of New Jersey, has tried to present an unflappable face. “This process has not stopped me from doing my job,” she told supporters outside a New Jersey courthouse in October. “It is not going to stop me from doing my job.” But the reality is that the case against her by the Trump administration — a test of executive power … Continue Reading
April 01, 2026
Black NJ Congresswoman Speaks On Facing 17 Years in Prison for Visiting ICE Detainees
President Donald Trump has a history of using the Justice Department to target his adversaries. Now, N.J. Rep. LaMonica McIver finds the stakes incredibly high as she and several other Black leaders in positions of power appear to be the targets of a political campaign meant to remove them permanently. Specifically, the first-term Democrat faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted on assault and interference charges. These charges stem from an incident in May 2025 during a visit to the … Continue Reading
March 30, 2026
Does the Constitution Protect This Congresswoman From Trump?
The Trump administration has made a habit of pressing criminal charges against Americans observing and protesting harsh immigration-enforcement tactics, using the power of the executive branch to intimidate and punish those who visibly dissent from the president’s political agenda. In many ways, the prosecution of LaMonica McIver is in line with this general approach. Last May, she was charged with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding” federal officials after ICE agents tangled with her outside … Continue Reading