Iowa State Senator Suggests Death Penalty for Some Immigrant Felons

A Republican state senator from Iowa is coming under fire from both Democrats and Republicans after suggesting that some immigrant felons should receive the death penalty.

Republicans and Democrats alike are speaking out after Iowa State Senator Mark Chelgren suggested that illegal immigrants trying to re-enter the United States should receive the death penalty.

The Republican Senator, who is running for U.S. Congress, told The Journal Express of Knoxville and Marion County that if an undocumented person is deported for committing a felony and then attempts to re-enter the United States he/she should be subjected to capital punishment.

The Journal Express reports that “For border security, Chelgren believes a fence would define the border and control who enters and leaves. If one is found to have crossed into the country illegally, committed a felony while here, then been deported, he supports executing that individual if they break America’s immigration laws a second time.“

“There is no reason to have felons here who threaten our way of life,” Chelgren said, adding that he has complete respect for immigrants who follow the law and properly assimilate and build a better life.

The Des Moines Register reports that “Charlie Szold, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Iowa, issued a statement Tuesday that said: ‘These remarks do not represent the values and beliefs of Iowa Republicans. Period.'”

According to The Des Moines Register: “Andy McGuire, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, called Chelgren’s remarks ‘vile, hateful and downright deplorable.'”

“We have heard Steve King and many Republicans running for president demean and insult immigrants and advocate for callous policies that would tear immigrant families apart. Mark Chelgren’s call for executing undocumented immigrants represents a dangerous new low for the Republican Party,” McGuire said, adding: “America is a country of immigrants, unified by the hope and opportunity to give our families and our children a better life. Our diversity makes our country stronger. Iowa Democrats will continue to fight back against heinous and hateful rhetoric from Mark Chelgren, Steve King, and the Republican Party.”

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