The Hill (Op-Ed)
By Rocio Saenz
December 14, 2015
Many
Americans thought the young U.S. senator from Florida, Marco Rubio (R),
could be a leading voice for Latinos across this nation. Based on what
we have seen during
this presidential primary season, there could be nothing farther from
the truth.
Rubio
loves to remind voters of his family story – being raised by Cuban
immigrants, having a father who worked as a bartender and a mother who
worked as a hotel maid.
It’s a story that he has a right to be proud of, the hard work of
immigrants like his parents helped build this country.
But
instead of honoring his family’s legacy, one of hope, opportunity, and
endless possibilities -- Rubio has turned his back on his heritage. Time
and time again he has
looked at his Latino and immigrant brothers and sisters in the eyes
preaching to be “one of them” and then walking away.
He
has chosen to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Donald Trump and close
his eyes to our nation’s promise – the promise that his family was
fortunate enough to receive
– to protect all American families. Whether in Iowa, New Hampshire,
Nevada, or Florida, Rubio has made it clear that he has forgotten where
he came from. He has made his true intentions known: ending the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals (DACA) program
as president, and no longer supporting immigration reform with a path
to citizenship, but rather a radical hardline approach that hurts all
American families.
He
has called raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour “a disaster,” even
though a rise in wages to $15 an hour would a huge boon to Latino
families and communities and
hundreds of well respected economists have said that raising wages to
$15 would actually help stabilize the economy. According to a recent
study by the National Employment Law Project, nearly sixty percent of
Latino’s make less than $15.
As
a result of these extreme Rubio-Trump policies, millions of families –
who are working hard to educate themselves and to create a better life –
will have to live in
the shadows and in constant fear that their lives will be torn apart.
These are not our values and this is not an America that our founding
fathers would be proud of.
Marco Rubio is doing more than just supporting radical policies, he is encouraging the politics of hate.
The
32 million eligible Latino, Asian American, and immigrant voters and
their families will not be fooled and will not forget the path Rubio has
chosen. His policies
of ending DACA and not supporting immigration reform with a path to
citizenship are cheered by his party’s leader, Donald Trump, the man who
wants to ban an entire religion from entering this country. A policy
that carries such hate, that even Dick Cheney
acknowledged it, “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.”
Tomorrow
night during the GOP debate, when we hear Rubio tell the story of how
he was raised by Cuban immigrants, who worked countless hours as a
bartender and a maid,
we will remember he isn’t one of us. We will make it known that he has
betrayed all the people he claims to understand: everyday people who go
to school, work overtime to make ends meet, go to church with their
families’ on Sundays, and just want the opportunity
to achieve the American dream.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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