White House slams New Jersey Democrats who protested at ICE facility as 'crossing the line'

The White House on Friday slammed the three Democratic New Jersey lawmakers who helped storm an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility to protest its opening in Newark.

Reps. Rob Menendez Jr., Bonnie Watson Coleman and LaMonica McIver entered the facility on Friday alongside Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested for trespassing. The lawmakers were demanding that they be allowed to conduct an "oversight visit," but had not given the facility prior warning, per Fox News. 

The White House criticized the lawmakers as "crossing the line" and accused them of putting illegal migrants above American citizens. 

"As always, Democrats are prioritizing the welfare of illegal aliens over American citizens — except now they're crossing the line between meaningless political street theater and outright breaking the law," White House spokesman Kush Desai told the outlet. 

Baraka, who had been protesting outside the ICE facility during the week, has claimed that the Department of Homeland Security has not obtained the proper permits for the building. The department denies the allegations.

"In a bizarre political stunt, as a bus of detainees entered the security gate of Delaney Hall Detention Center, a group of protestors, including [multiple] members of US Congress, stormed the gate and broke into the detention facility," assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X.

"This illegal breaking and entering of a detention facility puts the safety of our law enforcement agents and the detainees at risk," she continued. "Members of Congress are not above the law and cannot illegally break into detention facilities."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.