Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, a staunch opponent of President Barack Obama's immigration executive actions, has defended his use of the term "deportable" toward an undocumented immigrant who was a guest at the State of the Union.

King's comments came as he co-hosted the Iowa Freedom Summit, an event for conservatives featuring speeches by Republican Party figures.

King's tweet on Jan. 20 stated, "#Obama perverts 'prosecutorial discretion' by inviting a deportable to sit in place of honor at #SOTU w/1st Lady. I should sit with [U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel] Alito."

His comment was toward 21-year-old Ana Zamora, an undocumented immigrant originally from Mexico but currently living in Dallas, Texas. Zamora has been living in the U.S. since she was a child and has remained in the country as a result of Obama's June 2012 executive action that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows eligible undocumented immigrants to temporarily avoid deportation.

During an interview with Iowa radio station WHO, King said he used the "deportable" term from the U.S. federal statute (8 U.S. Code § 1227), which outlines instructions on how attorneys general may remove "classes of deportable aliens" from the country. King said the term "deportable" was used because pro-immigration groups have "conflated the term illegal immigrant with the term immigrant."

Christie's speech was also interrupted. According to the Dream Action Coalition, a group focused on advocating for the voice of undocumented youths, 13 protesters were removed from the Iowa Freedom Summit venue.

"We are here today sending a message to the GOP presidential candidates, like Perry, that if they are serious about 2016, they need to stay as far as possible from Steve King and his hateful actions towards us," said Malagon, co-founder of the Texas Dream Team.

"Immigration continues to be a central issue for GOP hopefuls who have their eyes on the White House. Events like the Freedom Summit further illustrate how out of touch the Republican Party is with the growing Latino and immigrant population in the United States. Do they really want to deport me and my mother?" said Cesar Vargas, a Dreamer from New York who interrupted Christie.

__

For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.