Illinois Congressman Luis Gutiérrez, a Democrat from the 4th District, said he and a group of fellow Latino lawmakers were asked to leave a meeting — which they had requested — with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on Thursday at the bidding of House Speaker Paul Ryan.

ICE also cancelled a planned Feb. 14 meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other Democrats in the House at the last minute, Gutiérrez said. That meeting was rescheduled "and turned into a Republican-led meeting" that was invitation-only, he added. Gutiérrez, now serving his 12th term, said Ryan's staff asked him to leave the meeting, tweeting, "Never before in 20 plus years has this happened." He added, in Spanish, "With Trump in the White House we have a dictator in Congress."

ALSO READ: Immigration Sweep Nets 48 Arrests In Chicago Area He also said he believes recent ICE raids could be just the beginning for undocumented immigrants who fear deportation.

On Trump ICE raids: "It is simply the very tip of the spear. It's going to get worse, I fear." The Atlantic https://t.co/ANaZ9a6en2 #twill pic.twitter.com/h3NMfhlR3G

— Luis V. Gutierrez (@RepGutierrez) February 17, 2017 Gutiérrez issued a statement after he said he was excluded from a meeting in the U.S. Capitol with ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan on Thursday: "Rep. Gutiérrez was asked to leave the meeting by staffers for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) at the request of Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Speaker Ryan. Several other Members were excluded from the meeting with the ICE official, including Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Lou Correa (D-CA), Ruben Kihuen (D-NV), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Norma Torres (D-CA) and Juan Vargas (D-CA)." Asked about members being asked to leave, Goodlatte said the meeting arrangement was "agreed upon ahead of time," according to Politico, and Ryan's spokeswoman AshLee Strong said that his office "organized a small bipartisan briefing that was, at the request of DHS, limited to members with jurisdictional interests in immigration enforcement."

The meeting prompted concern from some attendees that all undocumented immigrants are at risk for deportation thanks to President Donald Trump's executive orders.

"I was alarmed and deeply troubled by his explanation of how the president's executive orders would impact the immigrant community," Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, a Democrat from California, said in a statement. "In effect, every undocumented person in America is now vulnerable to arrest and removal as a result of the president's orders." "We know that the president uses fear — fear of Muslims and fear of immigrants and refugees — as the misguided motivations for his policy decisions," Rep. Linda Sanchez, a Democrat from California, vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said a day before the meeting. "The raids conducted by ICE over the past week are a tool to incite fear, and they don't reflect our values as a country."