Roundup: Rep. Steve King Vs. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Immigration, Civil Rights, and Arpaio

America's Voice Blog

Posted 01/19/10 at 12:22pm

Yesterday we celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the many lessons from his life that inform the struggle for real immigration reform in the U.S. today.

Seth Hoy writes, at Immigration Impact:

His legacy will be remembered this week by people of all colors and creeds who still believe in the American dream and who continue to fight for equality, civil rights and the basic human dignity they deserve. Over the weekend, thousands of human rights activists took to the street in Phoenix, Arizona, to march for civil rights and for “long-overdue federal action on immigration.”

Here is a video from that 10,000-person Arpaio march, which we live-blogged on Saturday:

From ManEegee of Latino Politico, who attended the march:

That's why it's important to come together in public like we did - to signal to other political leaders (and hopefully, Department of Justice officials) that Arpaio's actions are unacceptable. [...] Each time the march is covered with commentary on the investigations and continue blowing the lid off the sheriff's abuses, the more politically toxic he becomes and the feds are forced to act.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights also hosted a 1,000-person event in Chicago for immigration reform, which the Chicago Sun-Times covered. It featured the Reverend Jesse Jackson speaking about Dr. King's legacy:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson invoked the memory of King -- whose birthday is being commemorated Monday -- in calling for a change in immigration policy.

"His fight was about immigration reform," Jackson said. "It was about one set of rules" for all people.

And Jackson, like several others who spoke, highlighted the plight of the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake there.

Well, sadly, not everyone was out honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy this weekend.

Andrea Nill points out, in "Rep. King: Undocumented Haitians Should Be Deported Because Haiti Is In ‘Great Need Of Relief Workers,’" that some Members of Congress are still callous to the incalculable human suffering that Haitians are enduring, ignorant of or unwilling to engage in substantive public policy debates about immigration, and indifferent to America’s cherished ideals. Unfortunately, this is no surprise to those of us who have been following the Congressman King's statements on immigration.

Rep. King apparently has no qualms about sending Haitian immigrants back to a country in utter chaos after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, as ABCNews first reported, arguing:

“Illegal immigrants from Haiti have no reason to fear deportation but if they are deported, Haiti is in great need of relief workers and many of them could be a big help to their fellow Haitians.”

Seriously? Has the Congressman turned on the TV lately? Any idea what shape Haiti is in right now?

Rep. King, who in the past has compared undocumented immigrants to livestock, earned a serious tongue-lashing from MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann. Olberman minced no words, lamenting that King is a “man who does not know America’s heart” and cannot contain his “paranoid, racist, anti-immigration hatred.”

Nill points out that King's position on deporting Haitian immigrants is far from the mainstream, or even the Republican view. Ironically, it is even more extreme than views espoused by leaders of the John Tanton network of anti-immigrant organizations:

Members of King’s own party disagree. [...] Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) have called on President Obama to grant TPS to undocumented Haitian immigrants, “a virtual lifeline for such an impoverished country.” Even the not too immigrant-friendly Mark Krikorian claims that TPS “was invented precisely for cases like Haiti today.” Dan Stein, director of the designated hate group Federation for American Immigration Reform, suggests coupling TPS for Haitians with the termination of TPS and the deportation of other nationals who he believes no longer “merit” it — an unusually generous recommendation for someone like Stein.

America's Voice Executive Director Frank Sharry argues:

It is impossible to reconcile King’s statements with the American traditions and beliefs that he is sworn to uphold.

As we pause to commemorate the historic achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., protest the horrid abuses of Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and come together to help Haiti rebuild in the wage of tragedy, one can't help but wonder exactly what sort of America members of Congress like Rep. Steve King wish to create.