Democratic Rep. Goes Viral After Bluntly Asking ICE Director If He Thinks He's Going To Hell

New Jersey Democratic Representative LaMonica McIver went viral after questioning acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Todd Lyons before a meeting of the House Homeland Security Committee Tuesday and asking him if he thinks he's going to hell as ICE continues to face national outrage amid the ongoing immigration crackdown.

Alongside the heads of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Lyons was among the three top immigration officials who testified in a hearing called in the wake of the shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti by federal enforcement agents in Minneapolis.

The testimony put agency leaders on the defensive as lawmakers pressed them about enforcement tactics and the broader Trump immigration agenda. In his opening remarks, Lyons blamed elected officials and protesters for inflaming hostilities and said the Trump administration is "only getting started" with its crackdown.

At one point, McIver asked Lyons if he considers himself "a religious man" and when Lyons responded with, "Yes, ma'am," she replied:

“Oh, yes! OK, well how do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?”

Lyons answered:

“I’m not gonna entertain that question, ma’am."

Undeterred, McIver asked:

“Oh, OK, of course not. Do you think you’re going to hell, Mr. Lyons?”

The back-and-forth was cut short when Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino struck his gavel, reminding members to “adhere to established standards of decorum and debate"—only for McIver to say:

“Mr. Chairman, I was asking a question. You guys are always talking about religion here and the Bible, I mean, it’s OK for me to ask a question, right?”

She then asked Lyons:

"How many government agencies are you aware of that routinely kill American citizens and still get funding?"

When Lyons again said he would "not entertain" her question, she said:

"Of course you're not! Exactly! Once again, questions you cannot answer. And that is exactly why, Mr. Chairman and to this committee and to my colleagues and to my colleagues across the aisle, this is exactly why we should not be funding this agency."

"The people are watching you. They are watching you and this is why we need to abolish ICE. With that, I yield back. Thank you kindly."

You can watch their exchange in the video below.

The exchange struck a chord.

McIver has been one of the more prominent voices in Congress speaking out against ICE and is currently fighting a legal battle after trying to hold the agency accountable.

McIver faces a three-count federal indictment stemming from "forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers" after the Trump administration blocked her from visiting Newark's Delaney Hall detention facility following Mayor Ras Baraka's arrest last year for allegedly trespassing.

She has disputed the charges and said she and her colleagues "were fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibilities, as members of Congress have done many times before, and our visit should have been peaceful and short."

She says that "the charges against me are purely political—they mischaracterize and distort my actions, and are meant to criminalize and deter legislative oversight."