Video: Arizona Democratic Congressional Candidate Booed for Supporting ICE

Arizona democratic candidate Ann Kirkpatrick, who is running in the state's 2nd Congressional District, was booed multiple times during a debate Thursday night when she gave answers in support of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Answering questions alongside five of her democratic primary opponents, Kirkpatrick was first booed after the moderator of the debate asked which candidates would support "ICE agents without any increased oversight."

Kirkpatrick was immediately booed by the crowd after she was the only one to raise her hand, according to a heavily edited video of the event.

More boos, along with a few claps, came when Kirkpatrick raised her hand in support of condemning past comments made by California Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

Last month, Waters said that members of the Trump administration should expect continued public harassment if they keep defending his "zero-tolerance" immigration policy that led to thousands of migrant children being separated from their parents. Her comments came during the two weeks following White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders being asked to leave a Virginia restaurant, and senior adviser Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen being separately confronted at restaurants, in addition to at Nielsen's home.

In the heavily edited video of the debate, it was unclear why Kirkpatrick was booed several other times.

At one point, someone in the crowd could be heard confronting Kirkpatrick, saying: "You should be ashamed of yourself."

In an email to Newsweek July 24 from Kirkpatrick's campaign spokesperson, Rodd McLeod, she clarified her position on ICE, which was not previously mentioned on her campaign website.

"ICE needs top-to-bottom reform," Kirkpatrick said. "Trump's policies – especially around family separation – are illegal and should end immediately."

Kirkpatrick went on to say that she supports comprehensive immigration reform and believes ICE and border patrol agents need to be transparent and held accountable.

"I am disgusted by the Trump policies aimed at immigrant families," she said. "Children separated from their parents. Children put in cages. Parents deported for minor civil infractions such as traffic tickets. These policies are immoral and they are counterproductive."

Kirkpatrick also mentioned she supports the DREAM Act, which would offer protected status to undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as children.

In recent months, ICE has faced increased calls for the agency to be dissolved by the "Occupy ICE" movement. Several prominent Democrats like Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders have called for abolishing the agency, along with 19 high-profile ICE agents and leaders who signed a letter asking Homeland Security to eliminate the agency.

Kirkpatrick represented Arizona's 1^st Congressional District from 2009 to 2017 for three non-consecutive terms and was defeated by Republican Senator John McCain in her 2016 bid for the senate.

Kirkpatrick will face off against six other democratic opponents on the August 28 primary ballot. A judge ruled last month the former congresswoman could still appear on the primary ballot despite a lawsuit from one of her opponents alleging she gave false information about where she lives.

Update: This story has been updated to include a statement from Kirkpatrick and to correct that Congresswoman Maxine Waters is a California representative and not from Arizona.