The National Council of La Raza assailed King on Friday in a mass email where it said: “The exact day that Republicans felt it necessary to read the Constitution aloud on the floor of the House of Representatives to remind everyone of the importance of upholding its principles, Rep. Steve King added his name to the list of those who want to deface it.
“He introduced a bill that would change the spirit and intent of the 14th Amendment,” the NCLR statement said, referring to the measure to deny citizenship to U.S. born children of illegal immigrants..
King was the ranking member of the House Immigration subcommittee when Democrats were in control. King has been very outspoken about his views on illegal immigration. He has been very vocally opposed to the DREAM Act, claims that children born of illegal immigrants perpetuate chain migration and should not be granted citizenship.
Many believe his in your face style lead to his failure to get the chairmanship of the immigration subcommittee. As the ranking member in the House, King had been viewed as their heir apparent.
The chairmanship of the committee has ended up being given to California Rep. Elton Gallegly, a self-described hawk on immigration who has nearly identical views to King on most immigration issues. Gallegly has voted against giving undocumented immigrants breaks of any kind, and has sought laws denying educational benefits and health care services to the undocumented.
“We’re entering a meaner, darker period on immigration,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a Washington D.C.-based group that advocates for pathways to legalization for undocumented immigrants.
“The debate is going to be ugly, the legislation coming out of the House is going to be radical.”
