--- title: State of the Union: Lawmaker Asks Police to Arrest Dreamers description: Rep. Paul Gosar asked police to arrest undocumented immigrants at the State of the Union after Democrats invited DACA Dreamers to attend canonical: https://time.com/5125675/state-of-the-union-daca-dreamers-paul-gosar/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-30T22:18:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:04:47.343Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrats Invited 'Dreamers' to the State of the Union. A GOP Lawmaker Wants Them Arrested og:description: He asked Capitol Police to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants at the speech og:url: https://time.com/5125675/state-of-the-union-daca-dreamers-paul-gosar/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6bc2678c16b1868d/6988fa05e76ad27e26630d35/paul-gosar-state-of-the-union-dreamers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: News Conference To Discuss Legislation To Revoke The Medal Of Freedom Given To Bill Cosby og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrats Invited 'Dreamers' to the State of the Union. A GOP Lawmaker Wants Them Arrested twitter:description: He asked Capitol Police to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants at the speech twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6bc2678c16b1868d/6988fa05e76ad27e26630d35/paul-gosar-state-of-the-union-dreamers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Democrats Invited 'Dreamers' to the State of the Union. A GOP Lawmaker Wants Them Arrested > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 30, 2018 10:18 PM UTC  Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar speaks at a news conference on Jan. 7, 2016 in Washington D.C. Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar speaks at a news conference on Jan. 7, 2016 in Washington D.C. Paul Morigi—WireImage  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 30, 2018 10:18 PM UTC Republican Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar said he has asked Capitol Police to arrest and deport any undocumented immigrants present at the [State of the Union](http://time.com/5125461/donald-trump-state-of-the-union-address/) on Tuesday night, after more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers announced they were [bringing Dreamers to the speech](http://time.com/5123287/state-union-daca-dreamers-democrat-guests/) as their guests. Democrats had invited [Dreamers](http://time.com/daca-dream-act-jose-antonio-vargas-time-cover-revisited/) in an effort to urge President Trump and Republican lawmakers to find a solution for the undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. Members of Congress have [struggled to agree](http://time.com/5120633/trump-daca-plan-immigration-reaction/) on an [immigration plan](http://time.com/5119624/donald-trump-dreamers-citizenship-plan/) in the months since Trump announced he would end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which protected those young immigrants from deportation. “Today, Congressman Paul Gosar contacted the U.S. Capitol Police, as well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking they consider checking identification of all attending the State of the Union address and arresting any illegal aliens in attendance,” read a [tweet](https://twitter.com/RepGosar/status/958407946060300288) from Gosar’s official Twitter account Tuesday afternoon, hours before [Trump’s speech](http://time.com/5123973/trump-state-of-the-union-livestream/). “Additionally, Congressman Gosar asked that they arrest those using fraudulent social security numbers and identification to pass through security.” A spokesperson for Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. “Of all the places where the Rule of Law needs to be enforced, it should be in the hallowed halls of Congress. Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported,” Gosar said, according to the [tweeted statement](https://twitter.com/RepGosar/status/958407948048523264). His threat quickly sparked criticism from Democrats and at least one Republican. “This is why we can’t have nice things…” Republican [Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake](http://time.com/5042705/donald-trump-jeff-flake-not-going-quietly/), who is [not seeking reelection](http://time.com/4995650/arizona-jeff-flake-retire-donald-trump-republican-party/) in 2018, said in a [tweet](https://twitter.com/JeffFlake/status/958425737299668992). “This is why you got forced out of office,” Gosar [responded](https://twitter.com/RepGosar/status/958440895191363585). House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi [told Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/nancy-pelosi-calls-paul-gosar-anti-christian-over-state-of-the-union-threats-2018-1) that Gosar’s comments were “so outside the circle of respectable behavior for a member of Congress that it’s hard to comment on it.” “But a lot of our colleagues are people of faith and profess to believe that all of us have a spark of divinity in us — that we’re all children of God,” she said. “And for him to make such a statement really dishonors the God who made us.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused Gosar of “planting seeds of division and fear.” “Dreamers are not a threat; they represent the best of our country, and the majority of Americans and Congress stand behind them,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a [tweet](https://twitter.com/SenSchumer/status/958440374413996032). “Stop planting seeds of division and fear and instead get to work on finding a solution.” > [](https://twitter.com/RepBarbaraLee/status/958433459680305154) > [](https://twitter.com/brianschatz/status/958449663480385536) > [](https://twitter.com/NancyPelosi/status/958433024722526208) > [](https://twitter.com/MartinHeinrich/status/958456032551952385) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5125675/state-of-the-union-daca-dreamers-paul-gosar/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5125675/state-of-the-union-daca-dreamers-paul-gosar/"},"headline":"Democrats Invited 'Dreamers' to the State of the Union. 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