Iowa Congressman Steve King says the immigration stand Newt Gingrich articulated in last night’s debate is a problem for Gingrich. Gingrich said his proposal was the “humane” way to deal with the problem, by giving some illegal immigrants who’ve lived here for years a pathway to legal status.
“I think if Speaker Gingrich had that to do over again he might couch his language differently, at a minimum,” King says. “…It is a form of amnesty.”
King says this “makes it harder” to support Gingrich. “That piece is something that concerns me because the rule of law is one of the essential pillars of American exceptionalism and if we let the rule of law be eroded and we allow people to be rewarded for breaking the law and by the way these people probably had false identification; they were working illegally; they maybe just didn’t get arrested in a quarter of a century, so I think that principle of the rule of law needs to be examined and I’d like to hear Speaker Gingrich speak to that.”
When pressed, King said those remarks last night “had moved a little bit away” from Gingrich. King said all the candidates have “something to offer,” and he “hopes” to publicly endorse a candidate before the caucuses.
King made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Iowa Public Television.
