Rep. Maxine Waters Maxine Moore WatersPowell, Mnuchin stress limits of current emergency lending programs Pelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief Omar invokes father's death from coronavirus in reaction to Woodward book MORE (D-Calif.) on Friday slammed President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s new immigration plan, calling it “very racist.”

“There should be comprehensive immigration reform,” she said on CNN’s “New Day.”

She added that an immigration overhaul should not be “based on exciting and inciting those people who have negative thoughts about others coming across our border, and basically working to use that information to promote himself in a campaign. And I think some of that is very racist."

Parts of President Trump’s newly unveiled immigration plan are “very racist,” @RepMaxineWaters tells @johnberman.



“It is not keeping with what this country is supposed to be all about,” she says. https://t.co/BujrwCCgHB pic.twitter.com/fUAYZJDEWm — New Day (@NewDay) May 17, 2019

Waters said Trump’s plan, which calls for the United States to embrace a “pro-American” and “merit-based” immigration system that favors skilled workers over immigrants with family members in the country, is “not keeping with what this country is supposed to be all about.”

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“All of those things are not keeping in step with the way we treat human beings,” she said. “Asylum, those people whose lives are threatened — all these things should be taken into consideration.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Waters joins other Democratic lawmakers, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton HoyerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: California seeks to sell only electric cars by 2035 | EPA threatens to close New York City office after Trump threats to 'anarchist' cities | House energy package sparks criticism from left and right House energy package sparks criticism from left and right Hoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal MORE (Md.), in bashing the proposal, which has slim chances of passing in Congress.

Shortly after the president announced his plan on Thursday, Pelosi said it was “dead on arrival” and “not a remotely serious proposal.”

Hoyer said Trump was promoting “xenophobic and false stereotypes about immigrants from certain parts of the world.”