U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten pushed back Wednesday on an open letter signed by several local elected officials and political advocates, criticizing her for comments made in a video made with regards to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In the video, Scholten was critical of ICE’s tactics under the Trump administration—especially for the deaths of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti—and argued for an independent oversight body, but stated the agency was necessary for combatting drug trafficking and other crimes. The letter, signed by nine people involved with local Democratic politics, accused Scholten of enabling the immigration agency.
Scholten posted a response to social media, calling the open letter a “mischaracterization” and claiming that none of the signees had reached out to her office before or after posting the letter.
“We are at a crisis moment for immigration and our country. Two American citizens have been killed by federal immigration officials, and dozens more have died in immigration custody across the country,” her post stated. “Many residents of Grand Rapids live in fear of being taken away from their families, and Kent County remains one of the most dangerously high volume counties for human trafficking in the state.”
Local Dem Leaders Condemn Rep. Scholten Over ICE Support in Open Letter
Scholten, who worked for the Department of Justice in the Obama administration as an immigration lawyer, said her team would reach out to all of the signees. Included are former State Rep. Rachel Hood, Third Ward Commissioner Marshall Kilgore, and Grand Rapids Public Schools President Jose Rodriguez.
“This is a time for bold and engaged action, not sowing division on social media. I’m taking that bold action, supporting legislation in Congress to hold ICE accountable, doing accountability work on the ground by visiting ICE detention facilities, and meeting with officials to demand answers,” Scholten’s post continued.
Another signee, former Kent County Commissioner Ivan Diaz, told the Grand Rapids Herald on Tuesday that there’s interest in backing a primary challenger for Scholten, who flipped the seat blue in 2022 after over four decades of Republican control.
Diaz posted a statement on Facebook, where he expressed his disappointment with Scholten’s response.
“Our communities have tried to make it clear to Scholten for years that we do not agree with her positions. Nevertheless, I look forward to being contacted by the Congresswoman to have a further discussion not only about her positions on ICE & law enforcement, but also on her votes that have supported the continued genocide of the Palestinian people,” he wrote.
In the original video, Scholten explained why she endorsed U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens for the U.S. Senate race against Abdul El-Sayed.
Kent County Carries El-Sayed to Democratic Senate Nomination
Many of the nine signees endorsed El-Sayed, who narrowly won the Democratic nomination earlier this month. In Kent County, El-Sayed won by 26 points, the largest margin in the state.
Write to juliana@grherald.com