Women’s Refugee Commission Statement On The Arrest of Rep. LaMonica McIver And The Escalating Attack On Immigration Detention Oversight

The Women’s Refugee Commission condemns the arrest of U.S. Representative LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) by federal agents during a congressional oversight visit to the Delaney Hall immigrant detention facility in Newark, New Jersey. The arrest represents an alarming escalation in the federal government’s attempts to suppress lawful oversight and accountability.  

The arrest of Rep. McIver occurs against the backdrop of deeply entrenched abuses in the U.S. immigration detention system. Human rights abuses, including sexual assault and abuse, are rampant in detention facilities. Government oversight is both vital and statutorily required to ensure that our basic civil and human rights laws are met.   

Rather than address these abuses, the Trump administration has taken steps to eliminate the internal government oversight meant to investigate and prevent them. In March, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was effectively shuttering its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman’s office. These agencies served as vital safeguards, ensuring migrants’ rights and civil protections were upheld inside detention centers.   

The administration has also eliminated almost all other forms of access to detention centers for monitoring and rights training, including access for advocates and legal service providers. Arresting members of Congress is another horrific step in the administration’s attempt to turn immigration detention into a black box, where civil and human rights can be violated with impunity.  

“Arresting elected officials for performing lawful oversight is something we used to think happened in other countries, not here,” said Melanie Nezer, the Women’s Refugee Commission’s (WRC’s) VP for advocacy and external relations. “WRC has documented countless abuses in immigration detention — from sexual assault to life-threatening conditions. Without oversight bodies like CRCL and OIDO, and with elected officials shut out, arrested, and charged, anyone who finds themselves in immigration detention will be completely alone, with nobody watching them. This is a frightening prospect for human rights and for our democracy.”  

WRC has long documented these abuses and advocated for stronger protections for women and families in detention. We’ve warned that the closure of these oversight bodies — just as the administration accelerates detention and deportation and dismantles basic human rights and due process protections — leaves the government free to act with impunity and leaves people detained by the government, including children, with virtually no recourse.  

We call on all members of Congress to forcefully condemn these arrests, defend their constitutional oversight authority, and restore independent oversight of immigration detention. We urge them to support legislation like the Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act and take bold, public action — including conducting site visits during upcoming in-district work periods — to demand transparency and accountability.  

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