Immigration reform takes leadership

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Steve King of Iowa is nationally famous for candidly speaking his mind. Some people find the Western Iowa congressman's fiery rhetoric refreshing. Others find King's strong, even extreme, views a source of embarrassment and irritation.

King seems to relish his role as firebrand, describing his philosophy this way to a news reporter earlier this year: “When people get into leadership, they have to start to accommodate everybody's interests and try to keep the boat from rocking,” he said. “That's not my strongest forte, to keep the boat from rocking. I'm a boat rocker. I think I'm more effective being the philosophical conscience.”

So it seems incongruous that King likely will become chairman of the House immigration subcommittee in the 112th Congress - a subcommittee he's served on for eight years.

If King is chosen to lead, he should give up, or at least temper, his “boat rocking” to lead real, meaningful reform of this country's broken system of immigration policy and enforcement.

We're disappointed to see that, so far, at least, there has been scant evidence that the 5th District Republican will provide that such leadership.

Recently, King has proposed a number of “sharp turns” to immigration policy, including a proposal to eliminate federal funding to sanctuary cities, like Los Angeles and Denver, which by law or in practice, refuse to use municipal resources to enforce federal immigration laws. Recently, there has been talk in Iowa City of becoming a sanctuary city as well.

King says cities that take that approach are “making a mockery” of federal immigration laws and should be cut off from federal funding.

But that's a narrow and ineffective approach to this country's illegal immigration problem, which is the federal government's responsibility. It doesn't address the supply of or demand for illegal immigrants. It is not a realistic solution.

We also question the legality of King's proposal. Why can't Iowa City choose to let federal agencies handle federal immigration enforcement and focus its own, scarce, law enforcement resources on those who violate local and state laws?

Cutting funding to sanctuary cities is exactly the kind of nonsolution King must wean himself from if he becomes chairman of the House subcommittee scrutinizing the problem.

Immigration reform remains a serious matter in this country, one that's historically been difficult to address. It's an issue that demands strong but measured and reasonable leadership. We hope Congressman King is up to the challenge.