Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett called out Trump's administration for their "political theater" after ICE agents clashed with several Democratic members of Congress who toured an ICE detention center in New Jersey earlier this month.
As DHS agents sought to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for trespassing at a New Jersey ICE detention facility, New Jersey Democratic Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robert Menendez and LaMonica McIver appeared to scuffle with the agents, as they protested the mayor's arrest. Subsequently, while Baraka was released, Trump's interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Aline Habba charged McIver with assaulting the agents in a decisive escalation in Trump's weaponization of his Justice Department.
Notably, Crockett stressed that video footage shows that the Democrats who were targeted—particularly McIver—were shown on video to have acted "very calmly" about the situation.
She also commented that the incident offers an example of why President Donald Trump hired Fox News pundits (a group that includes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth) to serve in his administration given that the incident—like other Trump administration controversies—serves as fodder not unlike reality television that demonizes Democrats to the delight of Trump's base.
She said the following while addressing a GOP-led House judiciary subcommittee hearing:
“Frankly, it is sad that we do have to go through this kind of political theater because, listen, we all know what it is — that’s why they hired everybody from Fox News because all they’re trying to do is put on for a show. This is not ‘The Apprentice’ show."
“This is supposed to be about the American people, and I want us to start to refocus our attention on the American people and stop demonizing every doggone person that ends up in custody of ICE because they are not necessarily demons just because ICE decided to round them up.”
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Many concurred with Crockett's assessment.
Jason Houser, who served as ICE chief of staff under President Joe Biden and testified as the Democrats’ witness during a hearing titled “Examining Threats to ICE Operations," noted that he oversaw “hundreds” of visits from members of Congress and immigration advocacy groups while in his former position and that the incident earlier this month was "not normal."
He accused ICE in its present state of "overreaching," saying the agency has been “reckless” in targeting people “without criminal records, shutting down legal pathways and revoking protections.”
Houser added that ultimately "strength comes from strategy, not rounding up the wrong people for the wrong reasons."
Amid all this, it's worth remembering that Fox News, which largely marches in lockstep behind the president, has been repeatedly sued in court for peddling misinformation and disinformation—and at one point was made to pay nearly $800 million for 2020 election lies. Propaganda about ICE arrests would not be outside the network's wheelhouse.
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