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During a press conference Thursday, House Minority Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave a hip pocket class to a reporter with CNS News after she used the term “illegal alien.”

Pelosi said using terms like “illegal alien” is not “constructive” for the national debate over immigration.

“Using terminology like 'illegal aliens,' 'illegally entering the country' is just not viewed as constructive,” she explained. “The fact is that we have, we must protect our borders, that is our responsibility.”

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“We must also protect our values, that's our responsibility as well and we do believe that there can be a bipartisan way for us to come together to honor the values of our country and recognize that newcomers to our country are frequently the constant reinvigoration of America,” Pelosi continued.

Pelosi has previously condemned the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency for arresting “law-abiding” and “patriotic” undocumented immigrants after they made a sweep in her home state of California.

“This raid was intended solely to terrorize innocent immigrant families and instill fear in the hearts of our communities – not to keep Americans safe,” she said.