A year ago this week, nearly four hundred men and women were corralled into  the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa, in an immigration raid that has  come to be known as one of the least-just immigration operations in U.S. history.  

In fact, since the raid happened on May 12th, 2008, religious leaders and  elected officials across the nation have come out strongly in condemnation of the abuses that took place in Postville, Iowa. Not Congressman Steve King, however.

In a December 2008 op-ed in the Des Moines Register, King praised the immigration raid in Postville, calling it a “step in the right direction.” 

Then, in a February 2009 interview with Radio Iowa, King said that the raid “was a good thing in the long run.” From that interview:

King is the top-ranking Republican on a House subcommittee on immigration, and King says he will keep pressing for action to reduce the number of illegal immigrants living in the U.S. “I do have to carry that banner and I do so willingly…”

King’s perspective on the Postville raid, and his likening immigrants to cattle, are just two examples of a Congressional leader out of step with mainstream America and in step  with the most disturbing arm of the extreme anti-immigrant movement. The Congressman’s record is the focus of our  latest report: “Rep. Steve King (R-IA): Carrying the Banner for Anti-Immigrant Extremists.”