Black Dem accuses Steve King of 'white privilege' in heated exchange

The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus accused Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who’s faced criticism in the past for racially charged comments, of bias stemming from “white privilege.”

King was offering an amendment to legislation considered in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that speeds up the return of unaccompanied immigrant children to their home countries if they haven’t been subject to human trafficking and aren’t at risk of persecution.

King’s amendment would require the Justice Department to report to Congress on crimes committed by the unaccompanied immigrant children following their release from Department of Homeland Security custody.

He began citing statistics comparing the violent death rate in El Salvador to the homicide rate in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who represents New Orleans and leads the Black Caucus, quickly interrupted.

“We’re going to lose all civility in this committee if he thinks it’s appropriate to compare New Orleans to Guatemala,” Richmond said.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) tried to be diplomatic. “The gentleman from Iowa has the right to make a statistical comparison between two locations,” he said.

But Richmond said it was inappropriate for King to compare New Orleans, which has a large African American population, to a country in Central America where people are fleeing violence.


http://thehill.com/homenews/house/338998-black-dem-accuses-rep-king-of-white-privilege-bias