Federal prosecutors allege that on May 9, McIver, who represents New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District, forcibly struck and obstructed two federal agents during a confrontation at Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center used by the Department of Homeland Security.

The U.S. attorney for New Jersey said on Monday she was charging a member of Congress from the state with assault and impeding law enforcement during a scuffle caught on video earlier this month at a privately run immigration detention center in Newark.

McIver denounced the charge as "purely political" and said prosecutors are distorting her actions in an effort to deter legislative oversight.

Congressional lawmakers on Friday made their way into an ICE facility in New Jersey, claiming they were there to conduct an "oversight visit."

New charges against a sitting House Democrat who participated in a demonstration outside a New Jersey ICE facility could exacerbate tensions on the House Judiciary Committee.