McIver calls federal case ‘intimidation’ by Trump administration

US Rep. LaMonica McIver, who represents New Jersey’s 10th congressional district, gave birth to her second child last Thursday and faces an Oct. 9 deadline to decide whether to seek a rehearing of federal charges stemming from a May 2025 confrontation with immigration agents outside a New Jersey detention center.

McIver, 40, is only the 15th member of Congress to give birth while serving in the chamber. She first won her seat in a 2024 special election and won a full term later that year. She is also running for re-election this year.

In announcing the birth, McIver called being a mom “one of the greatest joys of my life.”

“Getting the chance to raise a family is a priority and a delight for me, something I hope everyone who wants to, gets the chance to do,” she said in a statement. “Bringing a child into the world is a reminder not only of why we fight for maternal healthcare and reproductive rights, but of why we fight for the rights and freedoms of our most vulnerable — they are someone’s babies too.”

McIver and her legal team must decide by Oct. 9 whether to seek a rehearing or an en banc hearing before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals — a further review of the case by the full appellate court. She could also ask the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the appellate court’s decision or let the case go to trial.

In late August, a federal appeals court declined to dismiss criminal charges against McIver. She is charged with interfering with an arrest in May 2025 outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention facility that has drawn protests over poor conditions inside. The charges carry a potential 17-year prison sentence. McIver is the only member of Congress the Department of Justice has indicted.

She has pleaded not guilty and sought to get the charges dismissed, arguing that she is immune from prosecution under the U.S. Constitution’s speech and debate clause because she was doing her job, and that the Trump administration has selectively prosecuted her.

McIver told The Guardian last year that the case against her is part of a pattern of intimidation and retaliation by the Trump administration against those who disagree with the president or try to hold him accountable.

“This is about intimidation. It’s about bullying,” McIver said. “It’s about trying to stop our level of government from having oversight and holding this administration accountable.”

Charging documents in the case noted that people, including members of Congress, surrounded Newark Mayor Ras Baraka outside Delaney Hall to prevent his arrest, and alleged that McIver shouted “hell no” repeatedly. The Washington Post, after analyzing video from many angles, said McIver “made contact with at least two agents” in the scuffle, but that it was “difficult to discern the force of the contact and to what extent it was intentional or the result of the chaotic moment.”

In a September radio interview, McIver described the situation that day as “very chaotic, very scary,” noting that armed federal agents were surrounding her and her congressional colleagues. She called the charges “dangerous for all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, not just for me.”

McIver has spoken publicly about the challenge of running her office, managing her case and fundraising for legal fees as a relatively new member of Congress — particularly while pregnant and caring for her 10-year-old daughter. Members of Congress do not get paid parental leave, she noted in her birth announcement.

In a profile with Elle magazine, McIver said she “couldn’t put the world on pause” while contending with her legal case and her dream of another child.

“Now, instead of just running for reelection — which, to be fair, I am also doing — I spend my days writing bills about bringing down energy costs and protecting food stamps, and my nights talking to lawyers about how to keep standing up to ICE without being sent to prison,” she told Elle.

McIver said she plans to return to voting in November after taking October to heal and spend time with her new baby.