Dems host alleged illegal aliens as guests at State of Union, DHS says

Several Democratic lawmakers are hosting State of the Union guests who have faced increased scrutiny from the Department of Homeland Security, including suspected illegal immigrants, DREAMers and citizens arrested for allegedly obstructing enforcement of federal immigration laws.

A Fox News correspondent received the list after inquiring with the agency about a tweet earlier Tuesday that said some Democrats were “planning to bring illegal aliens as guests to the State of the Union.”

“Once again, they are placing illegal aliens above the safety of American citizens. Just yesterday, our agents arrested pedophiles, rapists and violent criminals in our communities.

President Trump and Secretary Noem have made it very clear: If you come to our country illegally and break our laws, we will find you, we will arrest you, and you will never come back,” the agency said in its tweet.

A review of the list by Fox News Digital found guests from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., reportedly harbored Aliya Rahman, who was arrested during an operation targeting Ecuadorian national Jonathan Chachipanta-Pualacin on Jan. 13.

Members of Congress begin arriving at the House of Representatives before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC on January 24, 2026. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

“ICE executed a warrant to arrest an illegal alien with a final order of removal in the Park Avenue area of ​​Minneapolis. ICE agents apprehended four illegal aliens,” a DHS spokesperson said.

“As the officers were carrying out their law enforcement duties, a large crowd surrounded them and began to obstruct law enforcement operations – a federal crime. An agitator ignored multiple orders from a police officer to move her vehicle away from the scene, and was arrested for obstruction,” the spokesperson added.

DHS further disputed claims by media outlets such as CBC that Rahman was denied medical care after she was taken from her vehicle and detained.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., arrives for a town hall event in Minneapolis on Jan. 27, 2026. (Angelina Katsanis/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Another guest of Omar’s, Mary Granlund, is a local school board president 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 teachers who “conduct daily patrols, work to connect detained children and families to legal assistance, and coordinate food deliveries for families too frightened 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 said was part of an “ambush” of federal agents in October and whom the agency called a “domestic terrorist.”

Martinez, who was allegedly 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.

Asked about the criticism, Garcia told Fox News Digital, “I invited Marimar Martinez to be my guest on State of the Union because her own government almost murdered her and now he’s covering it up by smearing her and not holding Charles Exum and the other agents accountable.”

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Sen. Richard Durbin, left, Rep. Jesus Garcia (Reuters)

“That’s their strategy,” the Chicago lawmaker added. “I am proud to have Marimar as my guest – her courage stands in stark contrast to the cowardice and brutality of DHS and the rest of this lawless administration.”

In an earlier statement, Garcia said a Border Patrol agent “brutally shot and bragged about Marimar and that the Trump administration wrongly labeled her a ‘domestic terrorist.’

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., the progenitor of the DREAM Act, invited Tereza Lee — a pianist and daughter of Korean immigrants who Durbin says is the inspiration behind the legislation he has introduced in every Congress since 2001. The latest version was introduced in 2025 and co-sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

In a statement Monday, Durbin announced Lee’s invitation, crediting him with “the courage to share his story” and adding that “President Donald Trump’s animosity toward immigrants is on full display during his second term.”

DHS noted that the DREAM Act “would allow non-citizens without legal status who were brought to the United States as children and who meet certain education, military service or work requirements – to obtain lawful permanent residency.”

Another Illinois lawmaker, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, invites the daughter of a man detained by DHS during the height of Operation Midway Blitz.

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U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., answers questions during a news conference about a congressional delegation’s recent trip to the Indo-Pacific region on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, August 10, 2022. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein/File photo)

“Donald Trump may 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 as he announced that he had invited Jamie, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to join him.

Rep. Seth Moulton, Democrat of Mass., invites Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a man who DHS says was arrested in May 2024 while driving his father’s car — who was wanted by authorities.

Marcelo’s student visa had expired and Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that the “facts” [of his case] hasn’t changed.”

“[He] is still an illegal alien and is 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 apprehension, detention, and deportation of aliens who have no right to reside in this country. »

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., greets a Venezuelan immigrant whose son was arrested during an immigration court hearing in May 2025 and is currently detained in Pennsylvania.

“Dylan Josue Lopez Contreras is an illegal alien from Venezuela who entered the United States illegally over a year ago. Under the Biden administration, he was arrested at the border and released into the country,” a DHS spokesperson replied.

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“On May 21, 2025, Contreras was arrested and placed in expedited deportation proceedings. Most foreigners who entered the United States illegally in the past two years are subject to expedited deportations. [Joe] Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a summons before an immigration judge.

“ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal proceedings, as they always should have been.”

Rep. Mike Levin, Democrat of California, greets Stephanie Quintino, whose parents Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez were deported to Colombia, according to the agency.

Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., welcomes Carolina Dias-Goncalves, a University of Utah DREAMer who was temporarily detained in an ICE detention center following a traffic stop in Colorado.

Rep. Robert Menendez Jr., D-N.J., honors Adriana Quiroz Zapata, an asylum seeker from Colombia who, according to reports, fled an abusive and “politically connected” former partner, with her choice of guest.

Joining Menendez in the room will be Zapata’s niece, Monica Van Housen, who worked to prevent Zapata’s deportation.

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“Adriana, Monica and their family deserve far better from America than what Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and ICE have subjected them to,” Menendez told the New Jersey Globe.

Fox News Digital has contacted each member mentioned by DHS for comment.

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