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"I like that he is willing to stand up and fight for the American people and as I did as mayor," said Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta (pictured in 2011). | AP Photo Rep. Lou Barletta endorses Trump, hopes others will too

Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta endorsed Donald Trump on Tuesday, and said he hopes "establishment" Republicans will give up efforts to spoil his efforts to clinch the GOP nomination.

In an interview with POLITICO, Barletta, who is known for his own hardline immigration stances, said some of his GOP colleagues had pressured him to not publicly support the real estate mogul. But he said they are wrong to not embrace the impact Trump is having on their party.

"I wish that the establishment, instead of trying to stop Trump, you know, would look at why he’s so popular and coalesce around him so that it’s one team in November. Donald Trump is bringing a record amount of Democrats and independents…we should embrace that," Barletta said. "I like that he is willing to stand up and fight for the American people and as I did as mayor.”

During his decade tenure as mayor of Hazelton, Barletta oversaw a massive crackdown on undocumented immigration, aggressively punishing businesses who hired such immigrants and prohibiting government employees from translating documents without official authorization.

"Donald Trump was criticized the same way I was criticized when I was mayor because he addressed an important issue," Barletta said. "I don’t believe the issue would have been addressed if it wasn’t for Donald Trump bringing it up." The Washington Post first reported Barletta's endorsement.

Barletta is one of a handful of lawmakers who have endorsed Trump, but many are still withholding their support of the Republican front-runner. Trump on Monday huddled with lawmakers at a law firm close to the Capitol building, but he did not attract any congressional leaders.

On Tuesday, Barletta said he hopes more of his colleagues will endorse Trump.

"I would hope that we would coalesce around the front-runner so that we are a untied team and not be divided and allow Hillary Clinton to walk into the White House," Barletta said.