Rep. Steve King’s (R-IA) comments last week disparaging young undocumented immigrants went a step too far, drawing a Tuesday night condemnation from Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
Arguing against legalizing undocumented immigrants in an interview with Newsmax, the tea party stalwart said that for every valedictorian DREAMer — an immigrant brought to the U.S. as a child — there are existed 100 more who carried drugs across the border.
“For everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert,” he said. “Those people would be legalized with the same act.”
Boehner called the remark “wrong.”
“There can be honest disagreements about policy without using hateful language,” he said in a statement. “Everyone needs to remember that.”
Democrats and the White House also condemned the comment earlier in the day.
