Biden spars with Marjorie Taylor Greene over a murder he said was committed “by an illegal.”

President Biden jousted during his speech with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right representative with a history of interrupting recent State of the Union addresses, over crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, saying that in a recent incident a young woman ‘was murdered by an unlawful person.”

Biden’s use of the term sparked immediate backlash from liberal Democrats and immigration advocates, who accused the president of dehumanizing undocumented immigrants by highlighting the killing and using the term “illegal.”

Mr. Biden’s comments to Ms. Greene caused the president to deviate from his prepared script. Mr. Biden originally planned to draw attention to Donald J. Trump — his Republican predecessor and likely opponent in November — and his caustic language about immigrants. He was expected to say in his speech: “I will not demonize immigrants by saying they are ‘poisoning the blood of our country,’ as he said in his own words,” referring to the former president, who late was sharply criticized last year for repeating language similar to that of leaders like Hitler or Mussolini, as well as white supremacists.

But Ms. Greene, a Republican from Georgia, heckled Mr. Biden before he got to that part of the speech during a segment on immigration policy. Mr. Biden called on Republicans to support a bipartisan border deal that had been negotiated in the Senate but abandoned by Republicans who requested the legislation.

Wearing a bright red “Make America Great Again” hat and pins on her lapel referencing Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was killed in February, Ms. Greene shouted at Mr. Biden, who had recorded one of the pins honoring Ms. Riley as he walked to the podium to deliver his speech.

Mr. Biden then focused his speech on the killing. Authorities have charged a Venezuelan migrant — who entered the United States illegally and was subsequently released on parole — in the case.

“An innocent young woman murdered by an illegal alien. That’s right,” Mr. Biden told Ms. Greene, using a term to refer to the migrant favored by Republicans and criticized by many Democrats as subhuman.

But he quickly added that there are thousands of other murders that he seemed to attribute to “legals.” people who are legally resident in the United States. Mr. Biden and White House officials have made similar comments about migrant crime in the past.

Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates criticized Mr. Biden for engaging with Ms. Greene on the issue and for using the word “illegal” to refer to undocumented migrants, many of whom are seeking political asylum or humanitarian parole.

“We were shocked to hear the president echoing the words of anti-immigrant extremists,” the National Immigrant Justice Center said said in a statement. “Manipulating a personal tragedy for political gain in this way is dangerous. Confusing immigration status with criminality is racist and dehumanizing.”

Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, similarly criticized Mr. Biden, saying he was “parroting dehumanizing Republican rhetoric about immigrants.”

Representative Pramila Jayapal, chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said to an Associated Press reporter that she wished “he hadn’t gotten engaged to Marjorie Taylor Greene and used the word illegal.”

“As a proud immigrant, I am extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal,’” he said Representative Chuy GarcíaDemocrat of Illinois.

Mr. Trump had lamented Ms. Riley’s death, but even border authorities who worked for the former president during his time in office have said that most migrants crossing the border are vulnerable families fleeing poverty and violence rather than are criminals. Studies have also repeatedly shown that migrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States.

‘I tell her parents that my heart goes out to you. I understand, because I have lost children myself,” Mr. Biden continued.

Mr. Biden continued his speech and returned to his prepared remarks. “I will not demonize immigrants by saying they are poisoning the blood of our country,” he said to applause.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs reporting contributed.