Jeb Bush would not immediately attempt to repeal President Obama’s executive action on immigration.
Instead, should he succeed Obama in the White House, the former Florida governor said he would wait for Congress to pass a law to change the United States’ immigration policy before attempting to reverse Obama’s immigration executive action.
“A practical solution of getting to fixing the legal system is also allowing for a path to legalized status, not necessarily citizenship,” Bush said on Fox News Monday night about the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the country. “Pass meaningful reform of immigration.”
“I think illegal immigration ought to be punished by coming out from the shadows, earning legal status over an extended period of time where you pay a fine, where you work, where you don’t receive government assistance, where you learn English … where you’re deported if you commit a crime, as is the law,” he said, adding that self-deportation isn’t practical, nor is “rounding people up door-to-door.”
“What are we supposed to do, marginalize these people forever?” Bush asked.
Bush’s views set him apart from many of his Republican counterparts, who want to take immediate action should they be elected to the Oval Office.
Bush however defended his stance, suggesting that Republican voters “can be persuaded” to agree with him.
“If I go beyond the consideration of running to be an actual candidate, do you want people to just bend with the wind, to mirror people’s sentiment? … Oh, yes, I used to be for that, but now I’m for this. Is that the way we elect a president?” he argued.
Bush, according to a RealClearPolitics average of polls, is currently in the lead with 15.5 percentage points.
