President Joe Biden said he regrets calling a migrant an illegal in his State of the Union speech.

I shouldnt have used illegal, its undocumented, Biden told MSNBC s Jonathan Capehart in an interview airing Saturday night.

During his Thursday speech, Biden mentioned Laken Riley, a nursing student allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant. Rileys death has become a major talking point for Republicans , who have who have criticized Bidens handling of migrants coming to the border and have sought to tie it to crime.

An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal, Biden said during the speech. Thats right. But how many thousands of people, being killed by legals?

Democrats rebuked the president for using the word illegal to describe a migrant.

As a proud immigrant, Im extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word illegal, Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) posted on X.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) also expressed her frustration, posting on X : No human being is illegal.

In his interview with Capehart, Biden said he didnt want to use the kind of hurtful rhetoric former President Donald Trump has used to describe migrants.

When I spoke about the difference between Trump and me, one of the things I talked about in the border was his, the way he talks about vermin , the way he talks about these people polluting the blood . I talked about what Im not going to do. What I wont do. Im not going to treat any of these people with disrespect.

Biden added that migrants built the country and are part of the reason the economy is growing.

So you regret using that word? Capehart asked.

Yes, Biden responded.