The official X account of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which works to get Republicans elected to the House, referred to Democratic congressman Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY) as “an illegal immigrant” on Wednesday.
Espaillat delivered the Democrats‘ Spanish-language rebuttal to Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Espaillat’s rebuttal was heavily focused on Trump’s immigration policy.
The lawmaker slammed Trump for creating an “environment of fear among the immigrant community.”
“Trump’s migration policy is not designed the way he and his allies say, to deport those who really should be deported,” Espaillat added. “We want a new immigration law that secures the border, protects the DREAMers, the agricultural workers and maintains our families unified.”
On Wednesday, the NRCC’s official account took to X to accuse Democrats of being “disconnected from the American people” by choosing an “illegal immigrant” to deliver their Spanish rebuttal to Trump’s speech.
“Democrats literally chose an illegal immigrant to give their response to President Trump’s address,” the account wrote. “Predictably, this radical called Trump’s presidency a ‘reign of terror.’ Democrats couldn’t be more disconnected from the American people.”
Espaillat and his family immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic when he was 10. They came on a tourist visa and overstayed, but they were able to obtain green cards shortly after.
Espaillat, 70, became a U.S. citizen in his 20s. He has been representing New York’s 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2017.
