Rep. Steve King (R-IA), a leading House opponent of amnesty stated that not all young illegal aliens are “Dream Act” valedictorians that the media often showcase as deserving recipients of amnesty. He pointed out, as an example, that a significant number are involved in drug smuggling and characterized them as “drug mules.” For his remarks King drew heavy fire from the leftist media and also from Republican House leaders. Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who supports a “Dream Act” amnesty, called them “inexcusable,” and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) suggested that the remarks were “hateful language.”
Fact Check: None of the critics seemed to be interested in whether or not the statements were true. In point fact, quite a number of news reports in recent years have cited a sharp increase in the number of young people illegally crossing the Mexican border carrying quantities of drugs. People involved in this kind of traffic are commonly referred to as “drug mules.”
To cite examples, San Diego’s 10News.com reported last year (3/20/12) with the headline: “ICE: Number of Young Drug Mule Arrests Rising.” Just recently The Christian Science Monitor reported (7/16/13) that “While luring teens as drug mules . . . is not a new practice, the Tucson sector of the U.S.-Mexico border—the nation’s busiest—has seen an alarming jump in the past two years.”
The attack on King follows the common procedure of the Politically Correct (P.C.) Inquisition. If anyone makes a less than flattering comment about illegal aliens, or any other group favored by the keepers of P.C., they will launch personal attacks against the transgressor, charging most commonly that he is “bigoted” and “hateful.” Then the keepers demand an apology.
But Congressman King, much to his credit, has refused to apologize. And indeed he had no reason to do so. He was making the valid point that not all young illegal aliens are the “Dreamers” of media stereotype, i.e., kids who came here illegally through no fault of their own with their border crossing parents, kids who are now law-abiding except for their illegal status. Rep. King is quite right to maintain that a blanket amnesty for all young illegal aliens, based on this stereotype, is not appropriate.