(CNN) Just hours after President Donald Trump announced his "merit based" immigration proposal, Sen. Kamala Harris invoked her unique background as a candidate for president -- being the daughter of a South Asian immigrant.

"I found the announcement today to be shortsighted," said the California Democrat, slamming the Trump plan before an Asian American audience in Las Vegas.

On the plan's intention to award immigrants certain points based on education or skills, Harris said, "We cannot allow people to start parsing and pointing fingers and creating hierarchies among immigrants. The beauty of the tradition of our country has been to say, when you walk through the door, you are equal. We spoke those words in 1776, 'we are all equal' and should be treated that way. Not, oh well, if you come from this place, you might only have a certain number of points, and if you come from that place you might have a different number of points."

Asians have historically immigrated as family units, Harris pointed out.

"It is usually the sibling connection. There was no mention of that in the policy whatsoever," she said. "It is, and has always been, about family. And that was completely overlooked, and I would suggest, denied, in the way the policy was outlined today."

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