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Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016/Immigration
From Ballotpedia
 Marco Rubio |
Current U.S. Senator (2011-Present) FL House of Representatives (2000-2009) |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
- At the eighth Republican presidential primary debate on February 6, 2016, Marco Rubio discussed his position on immigration: Here's the bottom line. We can't get that legislation passed. The American people will not support doing anything about people that are in this country illegally until the law is enforced first, and you prove it to them. This has been abundantly clear. Every effort over the last ten years to do those comprehensively has failed. And it has failed because the American people have zero trust that the federal government will enforce our laws. And that's why since then, I have said repeatedly, if you are serious about immigration reform, then the key that unlocks the door to being able to do that is not just to pass a law that says it is going to enforce the law, but to actually do it. To hire the 20,000 new border agents, to finish the fencing and walls, to put in place mandatory e-verify, to put in place an entry-exit tracking system to prevent visa overstays. And once that is in place and that's working, I believe the American people will support a very reasonable, but responsible approach to people that have been here a long time, who are not dangerous criminals, who pay taxes and pay fines for what they did. But until then, none of that is going to be possible.[2]
- During the seventh Republican presidential primary debate on January 28, 2016, Rubio talked about his position on immigration: “I do not support amnesty...What I've always said is that this issue does need to be solved. They've been talking about this issue for 30 years, and nothing ever happens. And, I'm going to tell you exactly how we're going to deal with it when I am president. Number one, we're going to keep ISIS out of America. If we don't know who you are, or why you're coming, you will not get into the United States. Number two, we're going to enforce our immigration laws. I am the son and grandson of immigrants. And I know that securing our borders is not anti-immigrant and we will do it. We'll hire 20,000 new border agents instead of 20,000 new IRS agents. We will finish the 700 miles of fencing and walls our nation needs. We'll have mandatory E-verify, a mandatory entry/exit tracking system and until all of that is in place and all of that is working and we can prove to the people of this country that illegal immigration is under control, nothing else is going to happen. We are not going to round up and deport 12 million people, but we're not going to hand out citizenship cards, either. There will be a process. We will see what the American people are willing to support. But it will not be unconstitutional executive orders like the ones Barack Obama has forced on us.”[3]
- On January 12, 2016, Rubio introduced “The Cuban Immigrant Work Opportunity Act of 2016.” The legislation proposes terminating “the automatic eligibility for federal public assistance for Cuban nationals under the Refugee Resettlement Program, while maintaining it for those that have been persecuted that are in need of resettlement assistance,” according to the senator’s website. In a statement, Rubio said, “It is outrageous whenever the American people’s generosity is exploited. It is particularly outrageous when individuals who claim to be fleeing repression in Cuba are welcomed and allowed to collect federal assistance based on their plight, only to return often to the very place they claimed to be fleeing. The weaknesses in our current law not only allow the flow of American tax dollars into the Castro regime’s coffers, it also undermines the legitimate cause of those Cubans who are truly fleeing repression and political persecution. This is a first step to eliminate the loopholes and financial incentives that have been exploited for too long, while protecting U.S. taxpayers and preserving the original intent of the Cuban Adjustment Act and Refugee Resettlement Program, which is to afford refuge to Cubans truly fleeing persecution. … The need to help those fleeing repression in Cuba has not changed given that, since the Obama Administration announced its counterproductive policy of normalization with Castro’s dictatorship, political arrests and repression have increased. ‘The Cuban Immigrant Work Opportunity Act’ will ensure that we continue assisting those fleeing political persecution in Cuba while working toward ending any abuse of American generosity. This is a strong first step, and I hope Congress will pass it this year.”[4] [5]
- During an anti-poverty forum on January 9, 2016, Rubio was heckled several times by immigration protesters. “Rubio does not represent the Hispanic community. He wants to deport our families,” one said as he was escorted out. Others held signs saying, “Rubio wants to deport me!" Rubio was the only candidate appearing at the forum interrupted by protesters.[6]
- Rubio said on January 7, 2016, that he would introduce a bill to address abuses of the special immigration status afforded to Cubans in the U.S. “We have people living in Cuba off Social Security benefits. They never worked here. This is an outrageous abuse, and I have a law that we are going to introduce this week that shuts down this issue. It's wrong,” Rubio said.[7]
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Rubio discussed his position on immigration: “Immigration is not an issue that I read about in the newspaper or watch a documentary on PBS or CNN. It's an issue I've lived around my whole life. My family are immigrants. My wife's family are immigrants. All of my neighbors are immigrants. I see every aspect of this problem. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And here's what we learned in 2013. The American people don't trust the Federal Government to enforce our immigration laws, and we will not be able to do anything on immigration until we first prove to the American people that illegal immigration is under control. And we can do that. We know what it takes to do that. It takes at least 20,000 more additional border agents. It takes completing those 700 miles of fencing. It takes a mandatory e-verify system and a mandatory entry/exit tracking system to prevent overstays. After we have done that, the second thing we have to do is reform and modernize the legal immigration system. And after we have done those two things, I think the American people are gonna be reasonable with what do you do with someone who has been in this country for 10 or 12 years who hasn't otherwise violated our laws - because if they're a criminal they can't stay. They'll have to undergo a background check, pay a fine, start paying taxes. And ultimately, they'll given a work permit and that's all they're gonna be allowed to have for at least 10 years. But you can't get to that third step until you have done the other two things, and that was the lesson we learned in 2013. There is no trust that the Federal Government will enforce the law. They will not support you until you see it done first.”[8]
- On December 10, 2015, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) criticized Rubio for abandoning the Gang of Eight immigration bill in 2013. "I hate to speak ill of my colleagues. I think Marco is smart. I think he is capable. I watched him find that sweet spot of compromise on immigration reform, but then he broke down like a cheap shotgun the minute the right started chewing on his rear end. … That’s not what presidents are made of. Yes, you’ve got to be sensitive to where the country is, but you also have to lead. You have to lead. You can’t be led. You’ve got to lead,” she said.[9]
- On November 11, 2015, in three separate interviews, Rubio was asked about immigration. In each interview he discussed “his three-step reform pitch, which includes increasing border security, modernizing the legal-immigration system, and establishing a path to legal status that could take decades,” according to Business Insider. He told NPR's Steve Inskeep that he supports a "very long" path to citizenship, and that he would “direct more immigrants toward temporary work permits.” Rubio said, "I personally am open to that, but again, after 10 years on the work permits ... after you have a green card for five years, then you apply for citizenship. If you add up the years, that's a lot of years.”[10]
- Rubio said November 4, 2015, that the program established by the Obama administration to shield from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, known as DACA, must end whether Congress has passed immigration reform or not. "DACA is going to end and the ideal way for it to end is that it's replaced by a reform system that creates an alternative," Rubio said while in Manchester, N.H. "But if it doesn't, it will end. It cannot be the permanent policy of the United States." Before his comments, critics of Rubio had argued that his position on DACA was unclear.[11]
- During the September 2015 GOP debate, Rubio said Americans need to solve immigration issues by securing the border and improving the legal immigration system. “We must secure our border, the physical border, with — with a wall, absolutely,” Rubio said. “But we also need to have an entry/exit tracking system. 40 percent of the people who come here illegally come legally, and then they overstay the visa. We also need a mandatory e-verify system. After we’ve done that, step two would be to modernize our legal immigration system so you come to America on the basis of what you can contribute economically, not whether or not simply you have a relative living here.”[12]
- Although Rubio rejected the repeal of the Fourteenth Amendment on August 20, 2015, during an interview on Fox News, he said it was a “legitimate” concern that people were “deliberately coming here for purposes of having a child.”[13]
- Rubio, who was a member of the bipartisan Gang of Eight, co-sponsored the comprehensive immigration reform bill, S.744 - the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, which passed the Senate on June 27, 2013.[14]
- In November 2011, Rubio and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) proposed the AGREE Act, which, among other things, proposed removing "per-country limits on employment-based visas in an attempt to allow the brightest foreign students to remain in the country," according to the Palm Beach Post.[15]
- During the 2010 campaign, Rubio strongly supported securing the borders and opposed any form of amnesty. He said illegal immigrants would need to be deported and that any path to citizenship was “code for amnesty."[16]
DACA/ DAPA
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY | |
- On November 4, 2015, Marco Rubio said, "DACA is going to end and the ideal way for it to end is that it's replaced by a reform system that creates an alternative. But if it doesn't, it will end. It cannot be the permanent policy of the United States."[17]
- On April 18, 2015, Rubio’s spokesman Alex Conant clarified Rubio’s comments on DACA, DAPA, and immigration reform. Conant said, “Marco went on Spanish media this week and rejected a comprehensive immigration reform approach, said that the immigration executive orders won’t be permanent policy under his administration, and that he would oppose legalization today because we first need to prevent a future illegal immigration crisis by enforcing our laws. Marco also said it’s important not to end DACA immediately since it would be disruptive given all the people that have it but that at a certain point it would have to end since it cannot be the permanent policy of the land. In case anything was lost in translation, he believes we have to fix our broken immigration system in a series of smaller bills, starting with border security and enforcement, then modernizing our legal immigration system, and then eventually dealing with the illegal immigrants living here.”[18]
- During an April 2015 interview with Univision, Rubio said that DAPA “has impeded progress on immigration, on immigration reform. And since that program hasn’t taken effect yet, I would cancel it.”[18]
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The New York Times, "Marco Rubio Suspends His Presidential Campaign," March 15, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Transcript of the New Hampshire GOP debate, annotated," February 6, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "7th Republican debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," January 28, 2016
- ↑ Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator for Florida, "Rubio Introduces Legislation To End Rampant Abuse Of Cuban Refugee Resettlement Benefits,"accessed January 13, 2016
- ↑ The Guardian, "Rubio moves to curb benefits for Cuban immigrants over 'outrageous abuse," January 12, 2016
- ↑ CNN Politicos, "Immigration protesters disrupt Marco Rubio during poverty forum," January 9, 2016
- ↑ NBC News, "Marco Rubio Says He'll "Reexamine" Benefits For Cuban Immigrants," January 7, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Rush Transcript second debate: CNN Facebook Republican Presidential Debate," December 15, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Claire McCaskill Says Marco Rubio Is A Flip-Flopper And Nobody Respects Ted Cruz," December 10, 2015
- ↑ Business Insider, "Marco Rubio got grilled on immigration in 3 back-to-back interviews," November 11, 2015
- ↑ NBC News, "Marco Rubio: DACA Must End With or Without Immigration Reform," November 4, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "CNN REAGAN LIBRARY DEBATE: Later Debate Full Transcript," September 16, 2015
- ↑ The Tampa Bay Times, "Rubio rejects 'anchor babies' label ... 'Those are human beings'," August 20, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.744 - Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ The Palm Beach Post, "Sen. Marco Rubio says bipartisan jobs bill built on common ground," November 16, 2011
- ↑ CNS News, "Candidate Marco Rubio in 2010: An 'Earned Path to Citizenship is Basically Code for Amnesty'," June 20, 2013
- ↑ NBC News, "Marco Rubio: DACA Must End With or Without Immigration Reform," November 4, 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 ‘’Breitbart’’, “Rubio Affirms He’ll End Obama’s Executive Amnesty; Univision Interview Mistranslated,” accessed July 10, 2016
