Rep. LaMonica McIver isn’t just fighting for reelection — she’s fighting for freedom

This column first appeared in The Amendment, a newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large. Subscribe today to get early access to her analysis.

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 could face prison, but that has broader implications for how members of Congress can carry out their official duties.

Between going to doctor’s appointments, attending congressional hearings, serving her constituents, meeting with her lawyers, raising money for her defense and continuing to keep a spotlight on the treatment of immigrants in detention, McIver isn’t just fighting for her seat — she’s fighting for her freedom. When I spoke to her this week, ahead of the appeals court’s ruling, she described her legal battle as shocking, but also something that has come with the job for nearly the entirety of her time in office.

“This case is truly bigger than me, because if they can get away with charging me for doing my job, then they can get away with doing it to anyone, any members of Congress who are holding them accountable, who disagree with them, who are critics of their policies just because they feel like it,” McIver said. “That should be worrying to everyone, not just the people of New Jersey, but everyone in this country. Because you elect your elected official to do their job — not to be stopped from doing it because someone doesn’t like them.”

Eight months into her job, McIver — along with fellow Democrats Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and U.S. Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez Jr., who also represent New Jersey — went to Delaney Hall, a recently reopened immigration detention center. McIver and her colleagues said they were there for congressional oversight; members of Congress have a right to make unannounced visits to immigration facilities. But as the group attempted to enter the facility, they were involved in a conflict with federal law enforcement officers who were trying to block Baraka. There was a scuffle; federal officials accuse McIver of assaulting an officer, which she emphatically denies. McIver was charged with three counts of assaulting and impeding federal officers. She was the sole member of the delegation to be charged with a felony.

McIver and her legal team have argued that she has legislative immunity for her actions at Delaney Hall. The Justice Department disagrees, and in January, a federal judge sided with the Justice Department. 

McIver appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. On Wednesday, the court upheld the ruling that McIver does not have legislative immunity and allowed two of the charges against her to move forward. In a statement Wednesday, McIver said that the decision creates a chilling effect and that she was meeting with her lawyers to determine her next steps.

“To protect the people, their elected representatives must be authorized to conduct oversight of the executive branch without fear of retaliation,” McIver said in a statement. “The administration will not stop me from doing my job or standing for what is right. This is not over.”

McIver is no stranger to putting her body on the line for what she believes in as a congresswoman. In November, hours after surgery to remove fibroids, an exhausted and still recovering McIver cast an important vote to avoid a government shutdown. 

Though other elected officials have attempted to conduct similar oversight visits to immigration detention facilities, McIver is the only one currently facing federal criminal prosecution — making her among several Black women targeted by the Justice Department during President Donald Trump’s second term.

McIver won a special election in September of 2024 before being elected to her first full term in November of the same year. As a lawmaker, she’s always been a trailblazer. In 2018, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Newark Municipal Council, where she went on to serve as president. When she won her congressional seat, she became the first Black woman to represent her district, and the youngest person ever elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House.

These days, McIver estimates that she and her staff spend about half of their time on her case. House ethics rules say she can’t accept pro bono legal help. She can raise money for legal fees through her campaign, but as a new member of Congress whose background was in local government and whose first race lasted only weeks, she didn’t have much time before the May 2025 confrontation at Delaney Hall to establish relationships with supporters and donors who could also help finance her legal battle. 

Under normal circumstances, Black women running for elected office face a lack of support and have a harder time fundraising — but McIver’s situation is hardly normal.

“My first years of Congress have been dedicated to this, while other new members get to dedicate time to showing up to so many other things, and dedicating time to raise dollars, to support other candidates,” she said. “I don’t get that same opportunity because I’m literally trying to not go to jail for 17 years.” 

McIver easily won her June 2 primary with 85 percent of the vote. She is expected to win in November and return to Congress; her district, which includes Newark and Jersey City, is considered one of the most reliably Democratic in the state.

McIver is also continuing to do the work of serving the residents of her district. She points to more than $10 million in funding for projects ranging from infrastructure improvements to job training and youth programs. She has kept up oversight of Delaney Hall, including returning to the facility in June and attempting to speak to people detained there. On the anniversary of her initial visit, McIver introduced legislation to increase oversight of the administration’s immigration actions.

She’d rather be focused on her constituents, or her duties serving on the Homeland Security Committee, or knocking doors to thank her supporters. She’d rather be spending what money she has been able to raise on big ads, or campaign mailers, or paying staff — some of whom she couldn’t afford to keep. Yet her attention is divided. 

McIver estimates the case will cost her upwards of $1 million. It’s a fight she’s waging against a government with seemingly limitless resources.

“The part that they don’t get to see is the stress, the worrying of what this Department of Justice system, weaponized by Donald Trump, is capable of doing,” she said. 

McIver would also rather be preparing for her growing family and spending time with her 10-year-old daughter, Zaya, who knows her mom could go to prison. Pregnancy has not been peaceful, and McIver doesn’t anticipate getting much time to recover during her maternity leave, either.

Though the burden has been heavy, McIver said that she continues to show up. She has continued to look for small ways to have joy, lean on her faith and keep doing what she was elected to do. She is keeping the spotlight on the administration’s actions around immigration.

“I just explained to my daughter, ‘I’m in the fight for other people. I’m in the fight for Mommy to do her job on behalf of the people that I represent and make sure that their voices are represented and heard loud and clearly through the halls of Congress,’” McIver said. “At the end of the day, I want my kids to know that I was on the right side of history, and this case is exactly that, and I know that my daughter understands that very clearly, as clear as she possibly can at the age of 10.”

It would be nice, she said, to not have to spend so much time on a case she doesn’t believe she should be fighting.

“It hasn’t changed the way I’ve looked at my job,” McIver said. “It has really helped me understand or change my scope of how this administration is so dedicated to taking away the ability of members of Congress from doing their job and having accountability over them. It’s unreal, shocking that I’m here, but at the same time, that’s the reality of what I’m up against and what I’m dealing with.”