DENVER (KDVR) — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) is taking criticism on social media over photos of her wearing a sombrero and holding a sign referencing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Halloween.
On Friday night, an account posted a photo on X that appeared to show Boebert wearing a sombrero and traditional Mexican dress while holding a sign that reads “Mexican Word of the Day: JUICY Tell me if… Juicy Ice coming,” apparently mocking a Spanish pronunciation of “you see.”
She’s smiling next to a someone costumed as an angel and a man dressed as what appears to be an ICE officer. ABC News identified the man as Boebert’s boyfriend, Kyle Pearcy.
Another user on Facebook posted a photo that appeared to show Boebert in her costume without the sign. The account user said on the social media post that Boebert was at a Halloween party at the Grainhouse in Windsor, Colo.
“The Latino Caucus was made aware of the photo on Saturday and members were outraged,” Colorado state Sen. Julie Gonzales, co-chair of the Colorado Democratic Latino Caucus, told The Denver Post on Monday. “We immediately began conversations within our caucus of how we wanted to respond. … Congresswoman Boebert chose to mock our community, co-opt our culture, and make a sick joke while immigrant Coloradans with lawful immigration status in her own district, such as fifth-grade teacher Marina Ortiz, are being detained by ICE after doing everything that has been asked of them.”
Nexstar’s KDVR reached out to Boebert in response to the photos taken of her.
“It’s a Halloween costume. Tell our Senators to vote for the CR and open the government. They are choosing to let millions of American families suffer,” Boebert said in a statement.
Less than a week after the account posted the photo, nearly 50,000 accounts have liked the photo on X, and several users have commented and left their mixed opinions about the costume.
“This is beyond disgusting,” one user said.
“Lighten up, it’s a Halloween costume,” another posted on X. “I don’t see anything wrong with her costume. STOP the whining democrats,” someone else said.
Boebert is serving her third term as a member of Congress representing Colorado and her first as a representative of the 4th Congressional District.
