In a slip of the tongue, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday that President Obama will naturalize “illegal” immigrants in a ceremony on Independence Day.
Mr. Earnest was discussing the naturalization ceremony scheduled for Friday when he told reporters that Mr. Obama believes it is appropriate for the commander-in-chief “to naturalize those individuals who are in this country illegally — uh legally — who signed up to join the military to defend this country.”
“That is a pretty strong testament to the values that are held by those immigrants,” he said. “I can tell you that the president is genuinely looking forward to it.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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