Three Democratic members of the San Diego congressional delegation will not attend Tuesday night's State of the Union address by President Donald Trump, while another lawmaker plans to attend and bring a guest highlighting immigration issues.
District 51 Democrat Rep. Sara Jacobs said she will not attend.
"President Trump's policies have caused so much harm to San Diego's cross-border and immigrant community, so I won't be attending tonight's State of the Union and normalizing his abuses of power, corruption, and disastrous economic policies," Jacobs said in a statement to City News Service.
"Instead, I will join people who are bearing the consequences of his decisions: from those who've been kicked off Medicaid to (convicted sex offender Jeffrey) Epstein survivors to those who've been traumatized by ICE and Border Patrol to paint a realistic picture of the actual state of our union."
District 50 Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, posted on X that while he is not attending, he is not formally calling for a boycott.
"For the first time since I came to Congress in 2013, I will not attend the State of the Union address,"
Peters said. "President Trump has shown complete disregard for Congress, for the laws of our land and the Constitution, and he has not respected the office of the Presidency. I do not respect him and will not attend his speech."
District 52 Democrat Rep. Juan Vargas posted a video on X saying he will not attend the address.
"I'll be boycotting it because the truth is, the state of the union is terrible at the moment," Vargas said. "We have ICE terrorizing our communities. We have families that can't make ends meet. He's taken healthcare away from millions of people. And now, he is destroying our democracy."
I will not be attending Trump's State of the Union address tonight. Here's why ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LbEBOegZQ4
— Rep. Juan Vargas (@RepJuanVargas) February 24, 2026
District 49 Democrat Rep. Mike Levin said he understands why some colleagues are boycotting and supports their decision. Levin announced Monday that he will bring Stephanie Quintino, the daughter of a deported immigrant couple, as his guest to the State of the Union.
According to Levin's office, Quintino's parents, Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, were deported to Colombia a year ago after being detained by ICE during a routine check-in. They had lived in Southern California for 35 years and reportedly had no criminal record.
"What happened to my parents is happening to millions of undocumented immigrants across the country. They are working hard, paying their taxes, have no criminal records, and are contributing positively to their communities," Stephanie Quintino said. "I'm going to the State of the Union to put a face to the horrors of President Trump's mass deportation operations. ICE is ripping families, like mine, apart, and causing incredible trauma."
