United States House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said it was “deeply offensive” for Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) to say that many undocumented youth in the country are drug smugglers.
King’s remarks to Newsmax were directed toward DREAMers, or children of undocumented immigrants. DREAMers are young adults who were brought to the United States as children by their parents. They are the main recipients of President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action mandate, which would protect some immigrants from deportation and provide them with two-year work permits.
King is one of the most outspoken critics of immigration reform, which he believes will be akin to amnesty for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
Boehner said there is no room in the immigration debate for “hateful or ignorant comments from elected officials.” The speaker pointed out that remarks like King's will only make passing an immigration reform bill more difficult. He also emphasized that King’s opinion is not that of the Republican Party.
A recent poll from Latino Decisions — a think tank that measures Latino opinions on issues — found that 66 percent of Latino voters feel that anti-immigrant sentiment is representative of many Republicans in Congress and not isolated to a few individuals.
The House is currently debating its own immigration reform legislation. The Senate passed a historic immigration overhaul bill in June.
