Jayapal criticized for saying immigrants 'needed' in America to 'pick the food we eat' and 'clean our homes'

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Rep. Jayapal suggests immigrants are needed in America to ‘clean our homes' and ‘pick the food we eat'

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said Wednesday that immigrants are needed in America because they 'pick the food we eat,' ‘clean our homes' and ‘rebuild our communities after climate disasters.' (House Judiciary Committee)

Progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said Wednesday that immigrants are needed in America because they, among other things, "pick the food we eat," "clean our homes," and "rebuild our communities after climate disasters."

Jayapal's comments — which some GOP colleagues and others criticized as stereotyping immigrants — came during a House Judiciary Committee markup of legislation pertaining to the immigration crisis, known as the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023.

"Trump's policies, combined with his anti-immigrant rhetoric, made us less safe, less competitive in attracting the best and the brightest, and undermined our most basic human values of compassion and kindness," Jayapal said as she argued for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants residing in America.

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Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said immigrants are needed in America because they, among other things, "pick the food we eat," "clean our homes" and "rebuild our communities after climate disasters." (Stefan Klein/ullstein bild, Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

"So let's all take a minute to recognize the hypocrisy of every anti-immigrant debate," she continued. "This country needs immigrants to survive. Immigrants pick the food we eat, rebuild our communities after climate disasters, help construct our infrastructure, power our small business economy, clean our homes, and look after the most precious in our families — our children and our elders."

"They strengthen our economy, our food supply chain, and our ability to compete," Jayapal said of immigrants as she highlighted the "labor shortage" in America.

Jayapal's comments quickly garnered criticism on social media from FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

"Jayapal using the tired old, ‘Who will clean our homes?’ defense on illegal immigration. Limousine liberalism at its finest," the group wrote in a tweet.

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"WOW! Just wow! Democrat Jayapal defending mass illegal immigration of Biden admin," another social media user wrote.

Jayapal's remarks also drew the ire of GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who is the first Mexican American woman elected to Congress from Florida.

"It’s gross stereotyping and why so many Hispanics leave for the GOP," Luna told Fox News about Jayapal's remarks.

Former Texas Republican Rep. Mayra Flores, the first female Mexican-born member of the House, also took aim at Jayapal over her comments in a statement to Fox News.

"This is the same casual, condescending racism from the Left that I experienced when I was elected as the first Mexican-born Congresswoman," Flores said. "They see immigrants as laborers who should focus only on making life easier for the liberal elite, not as people who respect the law and want to live the American Dream. Frankly, Congresswoman Jayapal should know better – and should apologize immediately."

Jayapal's comments come as the federal government continues to grapple with large influxes of migrants entering the U.S. via the border with Mexico.

There were 191,899 encounters along the southern border in March, down 14% from 222,574 in March 2022, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Monday. It marks a 23% increase from the 156,138 encounters seen in February, although increases in encounters are typical as the spring and summer months arrive. Over two-thirds (69%) of all encounters were of single adults. 

Border Patrol encounters of migrants along the southwest border entering illegally between ports of entry last month — 162,317 in March — are down 23% from March 2022 (211,181) and 4% from March 2021 (169,216). An administration official also noted that the increase in Border Patrol encounters between February and March is lower (25%) than the prior two years (33% and 73% for 2022 and 2021).

Border Patrol agents monitor a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall near Otay Mesa between San Diego and Tijuana on Jan. 12, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

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While numbers in 2023 have so far been approximately the same or lower than 2022, it is unclear if that will change once the Title 42 public health order ends on May 11. The order, implemented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been used by both the Trump and Biden administrations to quickly expel hundreds of thousands of migrants at the border and has become a key tool in the ongoing migrant crisis, which is now into its third year. In March, 87,662 (46%) of encounters ended in a Title 42 expulsion. 

Jayapal's office did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.