Arizona GOP Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain demanded that a top State Department official retract his characterization that Arizona’s new immigration law mirrors human rights abuses in China, calling his remarks “particularly offensive.”

In a letter to Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Michael Posner, McCain and Kyl denounced his arguments. “As the Assistant Secretary of State in charge of the bureau of democracy and human rights, your remarks are particularly offensive. We demand that you retract your statement and issue an apology,” the Republican Senators wrote in the letter.

“There is no place for moral equivalency in democracy and human rights policy. The United States is the world’s leader in defending the rights of all people. Someone in your position should be proud to proclaim that,” Kyl and McCain added.

Posner’s comments came during talks with Chinese officials on human rights abuses. Posner told reporters following the meeting that he raised the Arizona law as a “troubling trend in our society” when discussing human rights issues in the U.S.

McCain and Kyl and have become increasingly vocal supporters of Arizona’s immigration law, which requires law enforcement officials to seek documentation of individuals they suspect may be in the U.S. illegally.