Democrat sets out on virtue signaling quest, ends up getting clubbed by Internet instead

Democratic California Rep. Sara Jacobs protested the deportation of illegal migrants in her congressional district by dining out at a ritzy Italian restaurant over the weekend.

Jacobs, a three-term lawmaker who is an heiress to the San Diego-based company Qualcomm’s fortune, decried an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid at a popular Italian restaurant on May 30, which led to the detention of at least four restaurant workers with no legal status. Her decision to protest federal immigration enforcement by posing with wood-fired pizza and a glass of white wine at the San Diego restaurant hit by an ICE raid was quickly panned by critics as out of touch and representative of the modern-day Democratic Party’s affinity for “cheap illegal immigrant labor.”

“I was proud to have dinner at Buona Forchetta to show my support to them as they deal with the fallout of the raid where agents threw out flash bangs in order to arrest restaurant workers, not hardened criminals,” Jacobs wrote on X Sunday evening. “We will continue to stand with our immigrant communities.”

Jacobs’s vocal opposition to ICE’s deportation efforts comes as left-wing protestors violently rioted in Los Angeles over the weekend in response to ICE carrying out deportation operations in the sanctuary city. Jacobs notably criticized President Donald Trump for deploying a National Guard unit to Los Angeles to protect ICE agents as they execute their deportation efforts. The congresswoman argued in an X post that the president’s move was an “unnecessary escalation.”

Trump administration officials and conservative commentators roundly panned Jacobs’ attempt at virtue signaling by posting pictures of herself at the popular Italian restaurant, allegedly caught employing illegal migrants.

“Here is Sara Jacobs, a billionaire heiress, demanding that she has cheap illegal immigrant labor instead of American workers receiving higher wages,” White House principal deputy communications director Alex Pfeiffer replied on X. “Sara enjoys the fruits of illegal immigrant labor, while never experiencing any of the consequences.”

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella referred to House Democrats as “spoiled elitists” in a statement Monday referencing Jacobs’ jaunt to the gourmet Italian restaurant.

“What wine pairing goes with virtue signaling?” another X user questioned.

The San Diego congresswoman notably voted “no” on the Laken Riley Act in January. The bipartisan legislation — the first bill Trump signed into law during his second term — allowed federal immigration authorities to detain illegal migrants accused, charged, or convicted of many criminal offenses.

Jacobs’ defense of illegal immigrant labor follows Democratic Vermont Rep. Becca Balint drawing controversy on May 29 by arguing that the administration’s mass deportation efforts will leave her constituents without “anyone around to wipe our asses.”

A spokesperson for Jacobs did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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