Latino groups in Colorado condemned U.S. Rep Lauren Boebert’s costume at a Halloween party over the weekend, calling it racist and cruel.
Boebert, a Republican who represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, dressed in a costume meant to be a Mexican woman, complete with sombrero and sign that mocked a Spanish accent and read “Mexican Word of the Day: JUICY. Tell Me If Juicy ICE coming.”
A person with her appeared to be dressed as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. A photo of the costume went viral on X over the weekend.
The Colorado Democratic Latino Caucus called it a “deeply racist caricature of our community.”
“Let’s be clear: this was not a ‘joke.’ It was a deliberate act of cruelty and disrespect toward the Latino community at a time when our families are suffering because of Republicans’ dysfunction in Washington,” the caucus said in a statement. Dozens of other Democratic state lawmakers signed on in support.
The district Boebert represents is about 16% Hispanic or Latino, and most of those people have Mexican heritage, according to census data.
The group called for an apology from the congresswoman, as did Voces Unidas, a nonpartisan group that mobilizes Latino voters in Colorado.
“Congresswoman Boebert’s disdain for Latinos is not surprising to those of us who watched her when she represented the Western Slope, but her racist Halloween costume is beneath her already low standards,” Voces Unidas CEO Alex Sanchez said in a statement. “The Trump Administration’s heavy-handed — and often unlawful — ICE raids are traumatic and disrupting to families and communities across Colorado and the country.”
ICE arrests in Colorado have significantly ramped up since President Donald Trump began his second term this year, at one point averaging 17 arrests per day over the summer. It is part of a national effort to fulfill the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan.
“While families are worried about food running out, while children cry because their parents have been detained or deported, while teachers and essential workers are living in fear, Republicans like Lauren Boebert are mocking our pain and using our culture as a prop,” the CDLC statement reads.
A Douglas County teacher, Marina Ortiz, was recently arrested by ICE despite having legal authorization to work in the country, according to school officials. Fernando Jaramillo-Solano and his two children were arrested in Durango in October and are still in custody, even though an ICE official testified that they mistook him for someone else. And immigrant-rights advocate Jeanette Vizguerra is approaching seven months of detainment after being arrested outside her workplace in March.
Boebert’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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