Fact Check: Did ICE raid Nancy Pelosi's property, arresting nine illegal immigrants?
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: Amid the debates surrounding President Donald Trump's immigration policies, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had raided a property belonging to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and made nine arrests, sparking concerns. Let us analyze and fact-check the claim.
Claim: ICE raided Nancy Pelosi's property, making nine arrests
According to a post that is going viral online, ICE raided Nancy Pelosi’s winery, arresting nine illegal immigrants, and now Homeland Security is investigating the employer, which is Nancy and her husband, Paul Pelosi.
The post states that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has confirmed that there were enough arrests to open a full investigation into the employer.
Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, are listed as partners in the winery, which makes them the employers.
The claim spread on Facebook and X, garnering hundreds of thousands of views, with many criticizing the Democratic Congresswoman for harboring illegals, while a few others dismissed it as fake, calling for a fact check.
Fact Check: The claim was posted by a parody account
The claim, however, is false, as there is no credible evidence that says ICE raided Pelosi’s property, arresting nine illegal immigrants.
A search on Google for the keywords ‘ICE raid Nancy Pelosi,’ ‘ICE arrests illegals from Pelosi’s property,’ ‘Nancy Pelosi ICE raid,’ yielded no credible reports by prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would not go unreported.
Moreover, the search results revealed that the claim was first posted by a popular Facebook parody account called ‘America’s Last Line Of Defense.’
The Facebook post, which was accompanied by an image of Pelosi and ICE agents, was accompanied by a small overlay text on the bottom left corner stating, ‘Nothing on this page is real.’ The same was also stated on the account’s bio.
Nancy Pelosi slams ICE over family arrests
The claim surfaced after Pelosi released a statement on June 5 condemning ICE arrests, stating, “It is stupid that ICE is now arresting families and children for obeying the law.
"The detained immigrants were diligently cooperating with law enforcement and complying with the law by reporting to their regularly scheduled check-in with ICE."
"These families were following their normal routine – and if the purpose of ICE is to ensure immigration laws and processes are enforced and followed, these arrests run counter to that mission and are inconsistent with it.”
“For a long time, there have been concerns about the behavior of ICE and how they are penalizing people who obey the law. The arrests in San Francisco are a manifestation of a broader pattern of ICE’s ineffective, renegade behavior. Oversight and reform of ICE is needed now more than ever,” it said.
