Senator: Boston terror case reframes immigration debate

Alan Gomez, USA TODAY12:49 p.m. EDT April 19, 2013

Because the FBI has ID'd suspects as immigrants from Chechnya, debate over overhauling immigration policy takes an unexpected turn.


A neighbor is escorted to safety as police surround a home while searching for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings in Watertown, Mass., on Friday.(Photo: Charles Krupa, AP)
Story Highlights


  • Border security is a key component in the sweeping immigration bill
  • Because of breaking news, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano postponed scheduled testimony
  • Other senators caution against overreacting



One Republican senator said Friday that a recently filed immigration bill will need to be looked at carefully now that the FBI believes two Chechnya immigrants were behind the terror bombing at the Boston Marathon.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, used his opening statement at a Senate immigration hearing Friday to tie proposed changes to the nation's immigration laws to the deadly bombing and ongoing manhunt in Boston.
The FBI says two brothers — Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, killed in a gunbattle with police in Massachusetts overnight, and his 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar, are the main suspects in the blast Monday.
Both are believed to have come to the United States from war-town Chechnya in 2003, along with other family members, according to the FBI.
Border security is a key component in the sweeping immigration bill that was introduced this week by a bipartisan group of senators. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had to postpone testimony she was scheduled to give the Senate on Friday on the security aspect of the bill because of the manhunt for the second brother.
FULL COVERAGE: Boston Marathon explosions
STORY: Latest developments on manhunt for bombing suspect
　
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/19/boston-bombing-immigration-bill/2096697/