The Hill
By Rafael Bernal
February 23, 2016
Republican
presidential candidate Marco Rubio on Monday said the nation will
respond “in a responsible way” when illegal immigration is fully under
control.
Rubio,
who has emerged as the GOP establishment’s choice to take on Donald
Trump and Ted Cruz for the party’s presidential nomination, prioritized
border security in his
comments to Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly of “The O’Reilly Report.”
He
said it is necessary to “prove illegal immigration is finally under
control.” But once that is accomplished, the co-author of a 2013 Senate
immigration reform bill
said Americans will respond “in a responsible way.”
The
comments are softer than those of Cruz and Trump, who Tuesday sparred
over competing plans to deport 12 million illegal immigrants.
Rubio ruled out a mass-deportation scenario, saying, “The sort of tactics it would require would offend the American people.”
Pushed
by O'Reilly to define his ideal immigration reform scenario, Rubio
described a position reminiscent of his 2013 Gang of Eight bill, but
said his position could
change, depending on "what the American people will support."
Rubio
suggested illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for a
defined period of time maintaining a clean criminal record could pay a
fine and taxes to receive
a work permit.
He
did not close the door to permanent residency or citizenship, saying
the work permit would be “all they'd be allowed to have for a very
significant period of time.”
Trump’s popularity in GOP polls has been driven in part by his forceful denunciation of illegal immigration.
Rubio’s
position on immigration, in contrast, has been seen as a vulnerability
in the GOP primary. But many Republicans think it could help him in a
general election where
Republicans will need to win over Latino voters.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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