Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) was campaigning in Exeter, New Hampshire on Thursday when voters questioned his ever-changing position on immigration.
At a candidate’s forum sponsored by WMUR 9, James Allmendinger of Durham, N.H. asked the Florida senator if he supported a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.
“I do, but first we’re going to have to do two things. The first thing we have to do is prove to the American people that illegal immigration is under control,” said Rubio. “Today that lack of confidence has made it impossible to make progress on immigration reform.”
Rubio proposed a two-step solution. The first step involved securing the border, creating an exit-entry tracking system to prevent people from overstaying their visas, and mandating an E-Verify system for employers.
“We need to put this in place and show it to the American people and prove illegal immigration for the future now is under control.”
His second step was to modernize the legal immigration system. Rubio wants to reform our legal immigration system into one based on skills rather than family reunification.
After those reforms, illegal immigrants must come forward, pay fines and taxes, and then receive a work-permit for ten years, residency for three to five years, and then citizenship.
Rubio has changed his position on immigration many times since running for the Senate in 2010, when he campaigned against amnesty. In 2012, he flip-flopped and worked with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on comprehensive immigration that would have granted amnesty to illegal immigrants and tripled legal immigration. He has since abandoned that position as well.
The Boston Globe produced a timeline of the senator through all his various positions on immigration reform and what to do with the illegal immigrants already here.
According to Real Clear Politics, Rubio is polling in fifth in New Hampshire.
It seems odd for Rubio to support amnesty in the Granite State.
Former Sen. Scott Brown (R) nearly defeated incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) by attacking her for having a similar position to Rubio in 2014.
Watch full video below:
(h/t The Right Scoop)
