Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) ignited a firestorm of bipartisan backlash this week after making a crude and demeaning remark about immigrants during a town hall in Newport, Vermont — one that has Vermont Republicans demanding an apology and raising questions about the Democrat’s view of migrant labor.

The controversy unfolded as Balint addressed a question about U.S. immigration policy. In her response, she made an off-color remark that many have condemned as not only inappropriate but fundamentally disrespectful to immigrants.

“If we don’t have avenues for people to come here legally to work or to build a home here, I’m going to be really crude right now — we’re not going to have anybody around to wipe our a–es because we don’t have enough people in our country now to fill the jobs that we have,” Balint declared.

She added, “Our economy is completely bound up in immigration and migrant labor,” insisting, “We have to come to a place in Congress where it is no longer a political issue, but we see it as an existential issue for the country.”

Balint, the lone representative for Vermont in Congress, framed her comments as part of a plea for a more “adult conversation” in Washington — but her phrasing and implications quickly drew the ire of critics across the political spectrum.

Leading the charge was Vermont Republican Party Chairman Paul Dame, who called on Balint to issue a public apology not only for her vulgarity but for what he described as a degrading and dismissive portrayal of immigrants.

“Congresswoman Balint should apologize — not only for her crude choice of words, but more importantly for the disturbing sentiment that the primary purpose of immigration is to perform labor that she deems beneath the dignity of others,” Dame said in a pointed statement.

“At the heart of these remarks is an opinion so offensive and so profoundly out of touch that it reveals a fundamental lack of respect for those who come to this country — abiding by the rules — in pursuit of freedom, opportunity, and a better life,” he added.

Dame went on to highlight the vital role legal immigrants play in Vermont’s economy — from pioneering breakthroughs in tech industries to serving as top-tier doctors and small business owners.

“The way Congresswoman Balint reduced Vermont’s hard-working legal immigrants to little more than ‘a– wipers’ is embarrassing,” Dame said. “She owes them — and all Vermonters — an apology for such a shameful characterization.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee also weighed in, using the moment to underscore what many conservatives see as the Democrats’ long-standing open-borders agenda.

“While complaining about President Trump deporting illegal immigrants, Vermont Democrat Becca Balint claims: ‘We’re not going to have anyone around to wipe our a–es.’ Democrats’ goal is, was and always will be open borders,” the NRCC wrote on X.

As President Donald J. Trump continues to enforce immigration laws and uphold America’s borders during his second term, Democrats like Balint are drawing renewed scrutiny for promoting policies — and rhetoric — that many believe diminish the dignity of both legal immigrants and American workers.