The race to replace George Santos in Congress is being roiled by accusations of an “anti-Italian attack” by a Republican staffer against the Democratic candidate, Tom Suozzi.

An aide for Republican Mazi Pilip sparked the furor by calling Mr. Suozzi the “godfather of the border crisis.” The staffer, Brian Devine, had said in a comment to the New York Post that Mr. Suozzi is responsible for the current crisis at the southern border due to his actions when he previously served in Congress.

Local Italian American organizations denounced the comments by Mr. Devine, who is Ms. Pilip’s communications director, as an  “anti-Italian attack.”

“No amount of political spin can change the fact that Tom Suozzi is the godfather of the border crisis,” Mr. Devine told the Post. “Welcoming illegal migrants is just another notch in his dismal record, and now he’s doing all he can to distance himself from it.”

Mr. Devine added that voters in the district “see right through Tom Suozzi’s charade.”

A group of more than half-a-dozen Italian-American organizations, including the New York State Italian American PAC, the National Italian American Foundation, and the New York State Order of the Sons of Italy, responded in a joint statement, released by the Suozzi campaign, condemning Mr. Devine’s choice of language.

“As Italian Americans and Italian American organizations, we condemn this anti-Italian attack and demand that Legislator Pilip apologize and refrain from issuing any other anti-Italian stereotypes in the future,” the joint statement reads.

In response to the statement from Italian-American organizations, a representative for Ms. Pilip’s campaign, Aidan Strongreen, said that “Tom Suozzi will do anything to try to deflect attention away from his dismal record,” adding the Mr. Suozzi is at least partially responsible for the current migrant crisis.

“In short, Tom Suozzi and Joe Biden are responsible for the migrant crisis, which is putting the safety of families at risk while causing budgetary chaos for municipalities across the country,” Mr. Strongreen said.

The statement comes as the special election in New York’s Third Congressional district is heating up, with national and local committees flooding the airwaves with ads supporting and attacking both candidates and the border crisis emerging as a key point of debate.

Mr. Suozzi is a first-generation Italian-American. His father was born in Italy and his mother is a Queens native. Ms. Pilip is an Ethiopian native who immigrated to Israel as a child. She served in the Israeli Defense Force before immigrating to America.