Braley: Boston bombings should not stop immigration reform debate

Immigration reform shouldn't be put on hold in the wake of explosions in Boston that are being attributed to immigrants of Chechen origin, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley said Friday.

The Waterloo Democrat disagreed with Republican congressmen from Iowa who suggested Congress should hit the “pause” button before further debate of the immigration reform proposal from the so-called Gang of Eight.

“The two issues are completely separate,” Braley said during taping of Iowa Public Television's Iowa Press April 19. “What happened in Boston was an act of terrorism. So we need to focus on what we can do to eliminate threats like what happened in Boston. To tie them to our conversation on the need for immigration reform is misguided in my opinion.”

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District U.S. Rep. Steve King, an opponent of amnesty for illegal immigrants, suggested that if those responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings were foreign nationals “then we need to take a look at the big picture.”

King said he agrees with the “very broad guidelines” in the Senate immigration reform plan, but argued border security should be a higher priority than loosening immigration laws.

And GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, who called the Gang of Eight's immigration reform plan “a good starting point,” told National Journal the subject needs to be carefully examined, “especially in light of everything that's happening in Massachusetts now.”

"Given the events of this week, it's important for us to understand the gaps and loopholes in our immigration system," Grassley said. "While we don't yet know the immigration status of the people who have terrorized the communities in Massachusetts, when we find out, it will help shed light on the weaknesses of our system. How can individuals evade authorities and plan such attacks on our soil?  How can we beef up security checks on people who wish to enter the U.S.?  How do we ensure that people who wish to do us harm are not eligible for benefits under the immigration laws, including this new bill before us?"

Braley, who is a 2014 candidate for the U.S. Senate, conceded that current events affect congressional debates, “but I think it is premature for people to try to analyze what happened in Boston and make broad conclusions about what that means for our immigration policy.”

Although the motivation for the Boston Marathon bombings remains unknown, Braley said if terrorists' goal was to “create confusion and anxiety and fear among the American people then they have won.”

“But they haven't won from the standpoint of changing who we are, what we believe in and that's what we need to keep focusing on,” he said.

Iowa Press will air at 7:30 p.m. tonight and at noon Sunday on IPTV, and at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV World. It also will be available at www.iptv.org.

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