Democrat lawmaker prompts backlash for asking ICE director if he's 'going to Hell'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, February 12, 2026

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., prompted outrage earlier this week for scoffing at ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons about his faith and asking him if he anticipates damnation for having "blood on [his] hands."

During a Tuesday hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, which at times grew contentious as members grilled Lyons, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, McIver first asked Lyons whether he considers himself to be religious.

"Yes, ma'am," Lyons said, to which McIver mockingly replied by asking, "Oh yes, well, how do you think Judgment Day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?"

When Lyons refused to entertain the question, McIver asked, "Do you think you're going to Hell, Mr. Lyons?" — a question Lyons also refused to answer.

.@RepLaMonica steps completely out of line, gets corrected during a committee hearing:

"Do you think you're going to hell, Mr. Lyons?"

This is seriously messed up. pic.twitter.com/W4K6YjYPzB

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 10, 2026

After Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., admonished McIver to "adhere to established standards of decorum and debate" and avoid "aggressively attacking" the witnesses personally, McIver responded by claiming she was "just [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 said.

McIver went on to ask Lyons if he could name agencies that "routinely kill American citizens and still get funding," which he also said he was "not going to entertain."

McIver, who has represented New Jersey's 10th Congressional District since 2024, was indicted by a grand jury last year for "forcibly impeding and interfering" with federal law enforcement when she visited the Delaney Hall Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, in May.

McIver's line of questioning sparked backlash online, including from the official account of the House Republicans, which described her display as "unhinged" and "a total meltdown." The White House's "rapid response" account on X called the exchange "seriously messed up."

Fox News congressional correspondent Bill Melugin claimed McIver's questioning elicited "groans from the audience in the room."

"ICE Derangement Syndrome is a real thing in today's Democratic Party," said Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.

"The sad thing about this is, it's the best [McIver]'s got," said New Jersey state Rep. Mike Inganamort, a Republican. "Not interesting or serious. Not intellectually curious. Not grasping the incredible privilege she has to influence policy. It's just a blip from a subpar Congresswoman, whose District could use a champion."

On Thursday, White House border czar Tom Homan announced that the federal surge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota was coming to a close, following weeks of tense protests exacerbated after ICE agents fatally shot Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti last month.