LaMonica McIver

LaMonica McIver is the US Representative for New Jersey's 10th congressional district, covering Newark and parts of Essex and Hudson counties. She was first elected in a November 2024 special election to succeed Donald Payne Jr., making her one of the newest members of the House of Representatives. Her district includes large Latino, Haitian, and West African communities, making immigration enforcement a direct constituency concern.

McIver introduced a bill to block Section 287(g) immigration enforcement programmes during 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, joining fellow Democrats Eric Swalwell and Nellie Pou in separate but parallel legislative efforts. ICE acting director Todd Lyons subsequently told Congress that ICE would remain a core part of World Cup security, declining to rule out enforcement near venues.

All three bills face near-certain defeat in the Republican-controlled House, but the legislative push serves a dual purpose: shielding immigrant communities in host cities and pressuring FIFA over its decision to award the tournament to the United States. For McIver, whose Newark district sits near New York-area venues, the stakes are constituency-level, not abstract.