U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) has been sharply criticised for a Halloween costume that many called offensive and racially tone-deaf.
According to ABC News, Boebert attended a Halloween party in Loveland, Colorado, wearing a sombrero and a Mexican-style dress. Her boyfriend, realtor Kyle Pearcy, came dressed as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. The appearance came as debates over immigration and border policy continue to divide U.S. politics.
“It is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen,” one person at the event told ABC News. “Even the conservatives at the party were in shock. People avoided them.”
Photos shared online showed Boebert holding a sign that read: “Mexican Word of the Day: Juicy. Tell me if ‘Juicy’ ICE coming.”
Stacy Suniga, president of the Latino Coalition of Weld County, told the Boulder Daily Camera that Boebert should “be ashamed of herself.” She added: “Though I believe she is incapable of any emotion that generates human decency, her bigotry and ignorance are clearly evident in her chosen apparel this day.”
A spokesperson for Boebert dismissed the backlash, telling ABC News: “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 has faced public backlash before. In 2022, she was criticised for a family Christmas card that showed her children holding guns. The following year, she was removed from a Beetlejuice musical in Denver after being filmed vaping and behaving inappropriately with her date.