Rep. Menendez After Storming NJ ICE Facility: This Is Unacceptable, “Should Shake Every American To The Core”
Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. (D-NJ), the son of disgraced former Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), on Friday spoke to the press after raiding an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey
REP. ROBERT MENENDEZ JR. (D-NJ): I can’t, I can’t begin to describe what happened here today. It started as part of our core functions as members of Congress to conduct oversight of ICE and privately run detention centers where we waited patiently for over an hour, over an hour and a half. We just waited. Waited to do what we’ve done together at Elizabeth Detention Center. We waited. And then we only saw action taking place outside where we were waiting, not knowing what was happening. We walked out to see what was going on. We saw Mayor Baraka out here by himself, mayor of the largest city in New Jersey, waiting for us to come back. ICE brought to meet the mayor of Newark over 20 armed individuals, 20 armed individuals to confront the mayor of Newark along with three members of Congress. It was an act of intimidation. It was an act of intimidation not just to the mayor, not just to us, but to everyone watching. We know what ICE has been doing in our communities. We know that the president lied and this administration lies every day when they’re saying they’re going after criminals. It is not true. They feel no weight of the law. They feel no restraint on what they should be doing. And that was shown in broad daylight today when they not just arrested the mayor of Newark, but when they put their hands on two members of Congress who are standing behind me. How is this acceptable to anyone in this country? How is this acceptable? I fight along with these two incredible women every day for the people of New Jersey. We fight for the country that we should be. What we saw today is the country that we live in under Donald Trump and his Department of Homeland Security, under his ICE, does not reflect who we are as a country, reflects everything wrong with the moment that we’re in. This is unacceptable. This is unacceptable and should shake every American to the core, to their core, to our collective core, that this happened today here in the city of Newark, the most inclusive city in New Jersey, with the mayor who represents the city, with the Congresswoman who represents the city, and with Bonnie Watson Coleman who’s fought for the people of New Jersey her entire distinguished career. This is unacceptable. This is unacceptable and it should be unacceptable to every single person that’s watching today. This will not be the end of it. It will not be the end of it when we leave here. It will not be the end of it when we go find Mayor Baraka. It will not be the end of it when we go home tonight. The fight continues. It will continue until we correct the course that we are on.
