The House GOP’s campaign arm deleted a post on X calling Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York an “illegal immigrant,” following a backlash on social media and strong condemnation from Espaillat’s fellow Democrats.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which Espaillat chairs, said the quiet deletion wasn’t enough, writing on X: “You can’t sweep this under the rug. We demand a retraction and an apology, not a mulligan.”
“Reminder: Even if they pulled down the tweet, Republicans said it loud and clear. No matter what you do, no matter what the laws of the United States of America dictate, to them you are and will always be just another ‘illegal immigrant,'” the post added.
Espaillat delivered a Spanish-language response to President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress earlier this week, prompting the attack from the NRCC. The five-term congressman initially came to the U.S. from the Dominican Republican as a child in the 1960s, overstaying a tourist visa before securing a green card and, later, citizenship.
“Democrats literally chose an illegal immigrant to give their response to President Trump’s address,” the group had posted X on Wednesday, adding that “Democrats couldn’t be more disconnected from the American people.” The post had quickly drawn condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans, too, with purple-district Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) calling it “inappropriate.”
NRCC spokesperson Will Kiley said in a statement that Republicans would “refuse to let Democrats distract” from their protests at Tuesday’s address. “Their antics on the House floor were far more egregious than any tweet.”
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