Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) took shots Sunday at two House Republicans who have criticized President Barack Obama on border security issues, saying that even they voted for a law they now blame for creating a backlog of immigrant children held at the border.
Gutierrez was speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation" about a 2008 law that's been blamed in recent weeks for helping encourage a surge of children from Central America immigrating illegally into the U.S. via Mexico. The law was meant to protect victims of child trafficking, and entitles the children to an immigration hearing before deportation.
According to Gutierrez, Louis Gohmert (R-Texas) "hasn't ever seen an immigrant who he hasn't thought was bringing disease to this country," and Steve King (R-Iowa) "always says they're criminals." But, Gutierrez added, both of these representatives voted for the 2008 law.
"When there were calmer times, level-headed people, we put the children's interests first," Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez also brushed aside the idea that border security needs to come first in dealing with the problem of children coming into the U.S. illegally.
"The border is secure! The fact is that these children are handing themselves over to the border patrol agents," Gutierrez said.
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