A Democratic lawmaker used President Donald Trumps State of the Union address as a stage for immigration politics by inviting an illegal immigrant to sit in the House gallery.
Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton brought Marcelo Gomes da Silva, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after overstaying a student visa, as his guest to the speech. According to the Daily Caller, Gomes da Silva was quickly moved to the ex-Marines congressional office after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) publicly flagged his unlawful status in a Tuesday evening post on X, prompting a scramble by Moultons staff.
During last nights State of the Union address inside the U.S. Capitol, a decision was made out of an abundance of caution to pull Congressman Moultons guest, Marcelo Gomes da Silva, from the House gallery audience after the official government account for the Department of Homeland Security issued this tweet at 8:24 PM ET targeting and harassing Marcelo, Moultons communications director, Aidan Curran, claimed in a statement. Marcelo was escorted from the House gallery at approximately 9:45 PM by a staff member from Congressman Moultons office. After leaving the State of the Union, Marcelo returned to Congressman Moultons office and watched the remainder of the speech from there, Curran added.
Democrats notably stayed seated when President Trump challenged them to agree that American citizens should come before illegal immigrants, underscoring the partys growing alignment with open-borders activism. Moulton then took to X to attack DHS for enforcing immigration law against his guest.
Marcelo has been in the U.S. since he was 6 years old. Zero criminal record. Youre not making anyone safer by targeting him, the ex-Marine claimed. Youre just proving how far youll go to terrorize young people trying to build a future in this country.
DHS, for its part, rebuked Moulton and other Democrats for turning the State of the Union into a platform for individuals who have no legal right to be in the country. The agency also called out Democratic Sens. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Chuck Schumer of New York for similarly bringing illegal immigrants as honored guests.
Gomes DaSilva is an illegal alien who has no right to be in our nation, DHS said. We are committed to enforcing the law and fighting for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens like him.
Former border enforcement chief Tom Homan has long warned that ICE cannot simply look the other way when it encounters illegal immigrants, regardless of criminal history. Just because were prioritizing public safety threats doesnt mean everybody else gets a pass, Homan said, a reminder that the rule of lawnot political theateris supposed to guide U.S. immigration policy.
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