House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) told community leaders in San Francisco on Thursday that immigrants who bring their determination and courage to the United States make "America more American."
Pelosi was responding to President Trump's executive order that targets federal funding in sanctuary cities. She met with over a dozen people for a round-table discussion at a federal building, and praised immigrants for strengthening the United States, the Associated Press reported.
"That hope, that optimism, that courage, that determination to make the future better for your family, that's an American value. So every immigrant who comes with those ideals makes America more American," Pelosi said.
Pelosi said that the country has some challenges now, and criticized Trump for describing his efforts to deport undocumented immigrants as a "military operation."
"The President is a fear monger and is a notion monger. What he put out was a notion which was rolled back by General Kelly," she said.
The executive order will punish cities that provide protection to those who are illegally in the country. Trump hopes the order will secure U.S. borders to keep out potential wrongdoers.
The National Republican Congressional Committee agrees with Trump, and said that Pelosi was "out-of-touch."
"Nancy Pelosi believes sanctuary cities 'make us safer.' Americans already knew she was out-of-touch, but assertions like that are ridiculous, even for her," NRCC press secretary Jesse Hunt said.
Dean Ito Taylor, a representative of the Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach organization, said that Democrats should still speak up against Trump, even though they do not have power to stop him.
"Because when our folks in the community see leaders, even if they're not president, stand up for them, it gives them some hope," he said following the meeting. "It gives them some confidence."