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Several Democratic lawmakers are hosting State of the Union guests who have come under scrutiny from the Department of Homeland Security, including suspected illegal immigrants, DREAMers and citizens arrested for allegedly obstructing federal immigration enforcement.
A Fox News correspondent received the list when inquiring with the agency about a tweet released earlier Tuesday that said some Democrats are “planning to bring illegal aliens as guests to the State of the Union.”
“Once again, they are putting illegal aliens above the safety of American citizens. Yesterday alone our officers arrested pedophiles, rapists, and violent criminals from our communities.
President Trump and Secretary Noem have made it abundantly clear: if you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you, we will arrest you, and you will never return,” the agency said in its tweet.
A Fox News Digital review of the list found guests with varied backgrounds and circumstances.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is reportedly hosting Aliya Rahman, who was detained during an operation targeting Ecuadorian national Jonathan Chachipanta-Pualacin on January 13.
“ICE executed an arrest warrant to arrest an illegal alien with a final order of removal in the Park Avenue area of Minneapolis. ICE officers apprehended four illegal aliens,” a DHS spokesperson said.
“As officers carried out their law enforcement duties, a significant crowd surrounded them and began impeding law enforcement operations— a federal crime. One agitator ignored multiple commands by an officer to move her vehicle away from the scene, she was arrested for obstruction,” the spokesperson added.
DHS further disputed claims from outlets such as the CBC that reported Rahman was denied medical care after being pulled from her vehicle and detained.
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Another Omar guest, Mary Granlund, is a local school board chairwoman who has taken action since the detention of a five-year-old at Columbia Heights School, according to a statement from Omar’s office.
Granlund works with a group of faculty members who are “conducting daily patrols, working to connect detained children and families with legal assistance, and coordinating food deliveries for families too scared to leave their homes,” Omar’s office said.
A DHS spokesperson said ICE does not go into schools and instead targets child predators to protect those same children.
Rep. Jesus Garcia’s guest is Marimar Martinez, who DHS alleged was part of an “ambush” of federal officers in October, and whom the agency labeled a “domestic terrorist.”
Martinez, who was reportedly armed and “has a history of doxxing federal agents,” “took defensive fire” from CBP and was later taken into FBI custody after a hospital stay.
When asked about the criticism, Garcia told Fox News Digital: “I invited Marimar Martinez to be my guest to the State of the Union because her own government almost murdered her and is now covering it up by smearing her and failing to hold Charles Exum and other agents accountable.”
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“This is their playbook,” the Chicago lawmaker added. “I’m proud that Marimar is my guest – her courage stands in stark contrast to the cowardice and brutality of DHS and the rest of this lawless Administration.”
In a prior statement, Garcia said that a Border Patrol agent “brutally shot Marimar and bragged about it and the Trump administration wrongly called her a ‘domestic terrorist’.”
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the forefather of the DREAM Act, invited Tereza Lee — a pianist and daughter of Korean immigrants whom Durbin said is the inspiration behind the legislation he has put forth in each congress since 2001. The latest version was introduced in 2025 and co-sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
In a Monday statement, Durbin announced Lee’s invitation, crediting her “bravery for sharing her story” and adding that President Donald Trump’s “animus towards immigrants is on full display in his second term.”
DHS noted the DREAM Act would “allow noncitizens without legal status who were brought to the U.S. as children and meet certain education, military service or work requirements — to earn lawful permanent residence.”
Another Illinois lawmaker, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, is inviting the daughter of a man detained by DHS during the height of Operation Midway Blitz.
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“Donald Trump can try to rewrite his record tonight, but communities across America are living with the consequences of militarized immigration operations that have terrorized families and left Americans dead,” Krishnamoorthi said in announcing that he invited University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student Jamie to join him.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., is inviting Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a man whom DHS said was detained in May 2024 while driving the car of his father – who was being sought by authorities.
Marcelo’s student visa had lapsed, and Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that the “facts [of his case] haven’t changed.”
“[He] is still an illegal alien and subject to removal proceedings. The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is hosting a Venezuelan immigrant whose son was detained during a May 2025 immigration court hearing and is now being held in Pennsylvania.
“Dylan Josue Lopez Contreras is an illegal alien from Venezuela who illegally entered the U.S. more than one year ago. Under the Biden administration, he was encountered at the border and released into the country,” a DHS spokesperson countered.
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“On May 21, 2025, Contreras was arrested and placed in expedited removal proceedings. Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. [Joe] Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge.”
“ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been.”
Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., is hosting Stephanie Quintino, whose parents Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez have been deported to Colombia, according to the agency.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., is hosting Carolina Dias-Goncalves, a DREAMer at the University of Utah who was temporarily held at an ICE detention facility following a Colorado traffic stop.
Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., D-N.J., is honoring Adriana Quiroz Zapata, an asylum seeker from Colombia whom reports said fled a violent and “politically-connected” former partner, with his choice of guest.
Zapata’s niece, Monica Van Housen, who has been working to prevent Zapata from being deported, will be joining Menendez in the chamber.
“Adriana, Monica, and their family deserve so much better from America than what Donald Trump, Kristi Noem, and ICE have subjected them to,” Menendez told the New Jersey Globe.
Fox News Digital reached out to each member mentioned by DHS for comment.
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