An Arizona congressman caused a stir Tuesday shortly before the State of the Union by asking the Capitol Police to detain illegal immigrants who will be attending the president’s address.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who represents the northwest part of the state, said Tuesday afternoon he wants any illegal immigrants on Capitol grounds, including guests at the State of the Union, to be detained.

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“Today, Congressman Paul Gosar contacted the U.S. Capitol Police, as well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, asking they consider checking identification of all attending the State of the Union address and arresting any illegal aliens in attendance,” Gosar’s official Twitter account tweeted at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. “Additionally, Congressman Gosar asked that they arrest those using fraudulent Social Security numbers and identification to pass through security.”

The Twitter account also released a statement from Gosar.

“Of all the places where the rule of law needs to be enforced, it should be in the hallowed halls of Congress,” Gosar said. “Any illegal aliens attempting to go through security, under any pretext of invitation or otherwise, should be arrested and deported.”

Some congressmen are bringing so-called dreamers to the State of the Union as guests. Dreamers, a reference to the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, are illegal immigrants who were brought to the United States as children by their parents or others. Trump and Congress are trying to hash out an agreement on granting amnesty to an estimated 700,000 dreamers.

Gosar’s request rankled many Democrats and liberals, but he had a defender in Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the founder of the House Freedom Caucus, who discussed supporting the policy with an aide, according to a Huffington Post reporter who overheard the conversation in an elevator.

But the request caused dyspepsia and indignation even among Republicans.

AshLee Strong, national spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), told NBC News “the speaker clearly does not agree.”

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Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), the Never-Trumper who is stepping down this year after only one term in the upper chamber, tweeted that Gosar’s request “is why we can’t have nice things.”

Gosar shot back on Twitter: “This is why you got forced out of office.”

PoliZette White House writer Jim Stinson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, homepage image: Paul Gosar, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore; photo credit, article image: Paul Gosar, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)