Latino members of Congress denounce King on House floor for “demonizing immigrants”

NBCLatinoBy Liliana Llamas, NBCLatino

Following remarks made by Iowa Republican congressman Steve King about DREAMers, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus took to the House floor on Wednesday to denounce his “ignorant” comments, as stated by members.

“America expects members of Congress to exemplify what is great about our country,” said CHC Chairman Rubén Hinojosa of Texas. “Generalizations about children, about entire races of people are intolerant, disrespectful and not very intelligent. Our country expectes better from us. Recent comments made by my colleague across the aisle are far below those expectations.”

King previously said in an interview that for every Valedictorian DREAMer who has been brought to this country by his or her family “…there’s another 100 out there who, they weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. Those people would be legalized with the same act.”  Even after his comments were swiftly condemned, the Iowa Republican refused to apologize, saying “it’s not something I’m making up.”

In one-minute floor statements held on Wednesday, legislators, including New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez said what is really needed is a clear path to earned citizenship and full integration for the undocumented.

“Rather than demonizing immigrants and blaming them for the challenges facing our nation, we need to make them part of the solution,” he said. “The old tactic of stirring up baseless fears will not divert our focus on fixing our nation’s broken immigration system once and for all.”

Rep. Albio Sires, a Cuban-American Democrat from New Jersey, added a powerful statement on the floor. “My parents brought me to this country at the age of 11. They brought me here for the freedom; they brought me here for the opportunities and they never told me to strap 75 pounds of marijuana on my thighs so we could sell it in America.”

“I represent Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty—two monuments that symbolize the history of America as a nation of immigrants. So when you make remarks like one of the members made, it’s not only ignorant, but quite frankly stupid not recognizing the history of this country,” he added.

New Mexico Democratic Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham and CHC Whip said she was “appalled that Rep. King would choose to disparage and bully the estimated 800,000 young DREAMers who were brought to America as children through no fault of their own and are leading law-abiding lives.”

The remarks from CHC members came after top leaders in the Republican party condemned King’s remarks.  House Speaker John Boehner said they were “hateful.”

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[Photo by DonkeyHotey]

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