Petitions Calling For Steve King To Be Stripped Of Immigration Seat Attract Over 100,000 Signatures

Petitions Call To Remove Steve King From Immigration Seat
UNITED STATES ? OCTOBER 7: Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, speaks at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in Washington on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
UNITED STATES ? OCTOBER 7: Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, speaks at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in Washington on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Petitions calling for Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) to be removed from a House subcommittee on immigration picked up steam this week, attracting more than 100,000 total signatures. The push comes after King sparked a national outcry when he suggested that many young undocumented immigrants were drug smugglers.

A Credo petition to strip King of his seat on the subcommittee has garnered over 40,000 signatures. A similar call from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to remove King from the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Border Security has surpassed 76,000 signatures, according to a spokesperson.

In a recent interview with Newsmax, King urged listeners not to sympathize with Dreamers, or undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as children.

"For every one who's a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds -- and they've got calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert," he said.

The Credo petition says, "The fact that House leadership have allowed King to keep his position send [sic] the message that they're not actually interested in real immigration reform."

Despite the criticism, King has defended his claim multiple times, telling ABC News, "There's no question that my comments were anything but ignorant."

Elise Foley contributed to this report.

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