Congressman Steve King releases this statement following his acceptance of an invitation extended by the White House to attend President Donald J. Trump’s Rose Garden delivery of remarks Thursday afternoon on the topic of “Modernizing Our Immigration System for a Stronger America.”
King is a nationally recognized leader on the subject of strengthening America’s immigration laws, and in 2018 he successfully led an effort in the House of Representatives to defeat two illegal alien Amnesty bills being pushed by former Speaker Paul Ryan.
“President Trump and I have a productive working relationship, strengthened by the fact I market tested his illegal immigration policies in Iowa for 14 years,” said King. “On first impression, a lot of what President Trump proposed today sounds good, especially when he emphasizes that his plan will deliver a border that is 100% operationally secure. The President deserves credit for attempting to reshape our immigration policies in a way that puts the needs of Americans first, and I was pleased to accept the White House’s invitation to attend (Thursday’s) rollout of his proposal.”
An early analysis of the President’s proposal indicates that it contains at least 10 important changes to the nation’s legal immigration system. Of these points, King has drafted substantially similar legislation that encompasses at least 7 of the changes that the President is seeking to make.
Congressman King has significant influence in Congress over immigration and border security policy, and the White House’s invitation acknowledges they understand the wisdom of using the “Schlafly Rule” to judge the merits of proposed immigration legislation. The “Schlafly Rule,” which establishes a simple test that Americans can apply to gauge the merits of immigration proposals, reads as follows:
“No bill on immigration is worth supporting unless Representatives King and Barletta are on board.”
The “Schlafly Rule” was developed and first articulated by Phyllis Schlafly’s sons, John and Andy, in a 2018 column entitled “Trump Should Stand Firm Against Illegals”. Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative icon, frequently referred to Congressman King as her “favorite Congressman.”
