Republican Rep. Mike Lawler questioned the citizenship status of a Latino lawmaker from Westchester County during a public hearing about immigration enforcement.

The rising GOP star from the Hudson Valley clashed with county legislator Jose Alvarado after the trailblazing lawmaker asked him how Latinos should respond to intrusive demands for proof of citizenship by police or immigration agents.

“I don’t know. I assume you’re a citizen. Maybe you’re not. Maybe you are,” Lawler said during the legislature’s weekly meeting, drawing derisive laughs and some dismissive remarks from other lawmakers.

Lawler defended his remark by suggesting that only a potential illegal immigrant would worry about being quizzed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Alvarado, an immigrant from Honduras who represents a Yonkers district, shot back by questioning why Lawler apparently didn’t know that he would have to be a citizen to vote, let alone run for election and serve on the board overseeing the county of nearly 1 million people.

“You didn’t know that in order to be elected, you have to be a citizen?” said Alvarado, the first-ever Hispanic lawmaker to win election to the suburban county board. “In order to vote, you have to be a citizen.”

Lawler sought to backpedal by claiming he was simply suggesting that anyone who is approached by law enforcement should cooperate.

“If you are encountered by law enforcement and they ask you for documentation, you provide it. That’s it,” Lawler said.

Democrats lashed out at Lawler, saying the incident showed him to be ignorant and insensitive to the concerns of Latino New Yorkers.

“This was the most horrifying moment I have had at the Westchester County Legislature,” added legislator David Imamura.

“[It] is indicative of all of the problems in today’s Republican Party,” Imamura said.

Lawler cruised to reelection last year in his blue-leaning suburban congressional district and is planning a possible Republican run for governor in 2026.

He portrays himself as a moderate Republican and has sometimes criticized President Trump. Democrats accuse him of being little more than a fig leaf for Trump’s right-wing MAGA agenda.

A spokesman for Lawler defended the remarks and said the controversy was being blown out of proportion by Democrats looking to score cheap political points.

“Congressman Lawler was simply making the point that people in this country, legally and obeying the law, have nothing to fear from ICE,” spokesman Nate Soule told NBC News

Lawler survived a racially charged scandal over his admission that he wore blackface for a Michael  Jackson costume in college. He apologized and said he was a huge fan of the late pop superstar.