"Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported," Rep. Paul Gosar said on Twitter. | Matt York/AP Photo GOP lawmaker: Undocumented immigrants at State of the Union should be arrested

A Republican lawmaker said Tuesday that undocumented immigrants in attendance at Tuesday night’s State of the Union address should be “arrested and deported.”

“Of all the places where the Rule of Law needs to be enforced, it should be in the hallowed halls of Congress," Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) wrote on Twitter. "Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported."


The status of undocumented immigrants, and especially of those brought to the U.S. as children, has become a central issue in recent weeks, with an impasse over their fate prompting a brief government shutdown earlier this month. Democrats have demanded that protections for so-called Dreamers be codified into law, and multiple Democratic lawmakers have invited Dreamers as guests to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address at the Capitol.

Gosar, an immigration hawk whose Twitter account bears a post reading “no amnesty—period” pinned at the top, said he has asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the U.S. Capitol Police to “consider checking identification of all attending the State of the Union address and arresting any illegal aliens in attendance.”

He also requested the arrest of any attendee who uses fraudulent identification or a fake social security number as they pass through security.

The statement from Gosar prompted a quick and bipartisan rebuke. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), said he "clearly does not agree" with Gosar's suggestion. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is bringing a Chicago-area Dreamer as a guest to Tuesday night's speech, wondered online "how many Republican members of the House and Senate will condemn this attempt to punish Dreamers who were brought to this country as kids?"

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), said in an interview Dreamers remain protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump ended last year with a sixth-month delay so that Congress could codify protections for them into law. She recommended that Gosar "read the law" and said Democrats have been insistent on tying Dreamers' fate to the appropriations process "because we have questions about people like Gosar understanding the law."

"I'm outraged by the comments from Congressman Gosar. Perhaps he should resign from the Congress and go work for ICE. He may be better suited to that position," she said. "His view certainly expresses the most right-wing view that I can imagine. And on the a day when the president is giving a State of the Union, on a day when we hope to hear about the future of our country and a vision for all people who are fortunate enough to be living in the United States of America, these kinds of comments I find disgusting and outrageous and not suitable for a member of Congress."

Like Durbin, other lawmakers responded on Twitter.

"What's wrong with you?" asked House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) linked to Gosar's tweet and wrote: "The State of our Union is heartless and cruel."

Trump, who spent much of his campaign touting his tough stance on immigration, is expected to address the issue in his Tuesday night address. A White House framework would include a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children, as well as funding for the border wall Trump promised during the 2016 campaign, an end to the diversity visa lottery program and a dramatic curtailing of family-based immigration practices.

That deal has been met with a chilly reception from both parties on Capitol Hill. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said money for a border wall was off the table after the president turned down a last-ditch offer that included such funding. Offering a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is likely to be unpopular with the House’s powerful arch-conservative Freedom Caucus, of which Gosar is a member.

