House Republicans’ campaign arm directly attacked Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s immigration status, drawing condemnation from Democrats.
“Democrats literally chose an illegal immigrant to give their response to President Trump’s address,” the National Republican Congressional Committee wrote on X on Wednesday, adding that “Democrats couldn’t be more disconnected from the American people.”
The direct attack of Espaillat, the first Dominican American member of Congress and a former undocumented immigrant, was met with a swift response from top Democrats who called the post racist.
“These people are disgusting,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on X.
Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said the GOP “isn’t even trying to hide its racism anymore.”
“With Speaker @MikeJohnson leading the charge, they wear their bigotry like a badge of honor — absolutely despicable! @RepEspaillat is a sitting member of Congress, an American citizen, and a dedicated public servant,” Martin said on X.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said “Whoever is the intern @NRCC that tweeted this racist shit needs to be fired” in his own post to X.
Espaillat delivered Democrats’ Spanish-language response to President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress earlier this week. He and his family overstayed a tourist visa when he was a child but received green cards within a year.
Espaillat, who has now been a U.S. citizen for decades and chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, has proudly labeled himself a “former undocumented immigrant turned progressive Congressman.”
The New York Democrat has also battled with Trump on immigration policies dating back to his first term.
The NRCC doubled down on its language, responding to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul calling the post “Vile, ignorant, and racist.”
“Democrats caring more about policing words and fighting facts instead of policing our border and fighting crime shows just how out of touch they are,” said NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella, echoing the NRCC’s response to Hochul online.
Espaillat’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Some Democrats, too, have used their political opponents’ citizenship status in recent attacks.
On Monday, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) told Elon Musk, who has led Trump’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government, to “go back to South Africa.”
Musk was born in South Africa but has been a U.S. citizen for decades.
“It was interesting yesterday — I was watching a video of an interview of Elon Musk where he said the Italians should stay in Italy and the Chinese should stay in China. My question to Elon Musk is — what the hell are you doing here in America?” Velázquez said at a rally outside HUD, misrepresenting an interview Musk gave where he was encouraging people to have children and reverse declining birth rates.
Musk has railed against illegal immigration in the United States. He has said he supports “a highly selective immigration policy” in the U.S. and has implied immigration could lead to a loss of distinct cultures globally.
Velázquez’s comments led to a slew of condemnation from Republicans, including from the White House’s rapid response team, which called the comments “completely unhinged.”
