In late July, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) made widely condemned remarks that disparaged immigrants, saying that "for every one [DREAMer] who’s a valedictorian, there’s another hundred out there who weigh a hundred and thirty pounds—and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling seventy-five pounds of marijuana across the desert.” Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are responding to the comments by making the case for a comprehensive immigration policy with a road map to citizenship in King's home district in Iowa. The two senators will be holding a round-table discussion with DREAMers, farmers, students and small business owners from across the state.

Durbin is one of the authors of the DREAM Act and the immigration proposal that passed with a huge bipartisan majority in the Senate last month. In addition to calling upon Iowans to condemn King's remarks, the event will be a forum to push the House of Representatives to pass the immigration bill.

If you can attend, RSVP to the event on Facebook.

The event is just one of many around the country that show a growing momentum in favor of a comprehensive immigration policy with a road map to citizenship. BuzzFeed reported on the nearly 200 events that have been scheduled to take place during the August congressional recess with the support of the labor movement.

Tom Snyder, who's heading the AFL-CIO immigration campaign, says:

“John Boehner gave Steve King, a divisive figure whose antipathy for immigrants is painfully obvious, a vote on his “Deport the DREAMers” bill in June. Throughout August and across the country, we will be demanding the same opportunity—give the House a chance to vote up or down on a road map to citizenship.

We will get this vote and we will achieve citizenship. The only questions are how many needless deportations happen between now and victory, and how many more Republicans lose office for anti-immigrant views before we achieve victory?”