Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) made a last-ditch effort to shore up support among conservatives for the Gang 0f Eight’s immigration bill Sunday ahead of its expected introduction into the Senate this week. Appearing on all five major Sunday morning news shows, Rubio artfully tried to explain how the legal status the group’s bill gives illegal immigrants is different than amnesty.
Rubio repeatedly argued that the bill – which the Senators have not yet finalized – doesn’t “give” anything to or “reward” illegals for bad behavior. Rather, it allows them access to an alternative opportunity to become a legal US resident, Rubio said.
“Number two, some people won’t qualify. They haven’t been here long enough … they’ve committed very serious crimes – they won’t be able to stay,” he said on ABC’s “This Week” of his group’s proposed process for obtaining a green card.
Rubio said that opponents of the legislation were “misunderstanding” the probationary legal status that illegal immigrants would be given once the border is secure (as determined by 100 percent surveillance and 90 percent apprehension).
“They have to qualify for it, they still have to apply for it, meaning they have to pass the background checks, they have to be able to pay the registration fee, they have to pay a fine, and then they have to renew it,” Rubio clarified on “FOX News Sunday.” “This is not forever. This is a renewable thing.”
He said that after meeting the new immigration guidelines, illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. would still have to apply for citizenship in order to stay in the country free and clear for the rest of their lives.
“They don’t qualify for any federal benefits. This is an important point – no federal benefits, no food stamps, no welfare, no Obamacare,” he added. “They have to prove that they’re gainfully employed, they have to be able to support themselves so they’ll never become a public charge – these are all the things they’re gonna have to do just to keep that status.”
The Florida Senator described what is happening in America now as “de facto amnesty” because only those resident who are caught have to pay any consequences for their actions. Likewise, he said his group’s law is “not amnesty” because “amnesty is the forgiveness of something” with no strings attached.
“It’s not amnesty because you pay serious consequenceses for having violated the law,” he told “Meet the Press” host David Gregory.
In fact, Rubio described the current immigration process as more charitable than what his law would do. Current law requires illegal immigrants who are deported to abide by a 10-year waiting period in their home countries before applying for citizenship after being deported.
“So I would argue that the existing law is actually more lenient, that going back and waiting 10 years is going to be cheaper and faster than this process that we are outlining,” Rubio said on”Face the Nation.”
He argued that the main reason illegal immigrants would want to follow the new law even though they don’t currently follow the old one is so that they are not “living in the shadows” and in living in constant fear that they’re going to get caught and be deported. Additionally, no one who goes about entering the United States illegally will become citizens before those who foreigners who are already waiting in line.
Rubio appeared up beat and optimistic about the bill ability to pass in the Senate, but made sure to distance himself from the legislation’s potential failure, saying he’s “not the key” to getting immigration reform passed. He also rejected “State of the Union” host Candy Crowley’s assertion that he is the “face of immigration reform.” Rubio told ABC’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week” that the reason he’s appearing so often on the nation’s top news shows to promote the bill is to bring attention to “the importance of this issue,” not to himself.
The potential 2016 presidential candidate also assured the move conservative members of the Republican Party that he views the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill as a return to conservatism, not a departure from the movement’s values.
“As far as the Republican Party is concerned, I just want the Republican Party to be what it’s always been. I want the conservative movement to be what it’s always been about – and that’s solving problems in a way that’s true to our values and the principles of the greatest nation on earth,” he said, “And immigration is a problem.”
Rubio promised that if amendments were added to the bill that went against his conservative principles, he would ultimately opt not to support the bill. However, he said he didn’t anticipate that coming to pass.
