Rep. Steve King: Boston bombing a reason for caution on immigration reform

By Jonathan Easley - 04/16/13 12:11 PM ET

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Tuesday that Congress should slow down on immigration reform in the wake of the Boston Marathon terrorist attack in case rumors that it was conducted by a foreign national turn out to be true.

“Some of the speculation that has come out is that yes, it was a foreign national and, speculating here, that it was potentially a person on a student visa,” King told the National Review in an interview. “If that’s the case, then we need to take a look at the big picture.”

At least three people were killed and more than 100 were injured Monday when two explosive devices detonated near the finish line of the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. The White House is calling the bombing “an act of terror,” although the identity and motives of the terrorist or terrorists are unknown.

Some media outlets reported late Monday that a Saudi national in the U.S. on a student visa had been identified as a person of interest, but authorities have yet to announce that they have any suspects in the case and there have been no arrests.

The student was allegedly being treated at a Boston hospital for minor burns from one of the explosions.

On Tuesday, the Gang of Eight released the details of a broad agreement that would give provisional legal status to an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants and put them on a pathway to citizenship if a series of border security metrics are met first.

The Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on the legislation on Friday and Monday.

“We need to be ever vigilant,” King continued. “We need to go far deeper into our border crossings … We need to take a look at the visa-waiver program and wonder what we’re doing. If we can’t background check people that are coming from Saudi Arabia, how do we think we are going to background check the 11 to 20 million people that are here from who knows where?”


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