Florida Senator Marco Rubio made a bold assertion Wednesday night during an interview with FOX News, declaring that if he were in President Barack Obama’s place the current border crisis would never have happened to begin with.
“If you were president of the United States, how would you stop this humanitarian disaster down there?” Bill O’ Reilly asked Rubio.
“Well first of all, it wouldn’t have happened,” Rubio replied assuredly.
Rubio proceeded to explain that unlike Obama, he never would have signed into law an order deferring deportation for younger immigrants.
“I think it shows a tremendous amount of compassion, but that wasn’t the right way to do it,” Rubio said. “It sent the message that actually invited people to come, and you see the disaster that has followed.”
When O’Reilly asked if Rubio “would send the kids back,” the senator answered with an unequivocal “yes.”
“The leading reason why this is happening,” Rubio explained, “is word of mouth is spreading that if you make it to the U.S. as an accompanied minor or as a family with children, you’re going to be treated differently than adults who are traveling by themselves…You’ve now created a word-of-mouth incentive for others to do the exact same thing.”
Rubio also called for the “deployment” of ground censors, cameras, and drones, “the construction of strategic fencing,” and the implementation of an e-verify system for employers and an exit-entry tracking system at airports.
O’Reilly’s “if-you-were-president” query may not be all that hypothetical. The senator recently declared that he is ready to run for president.
Watch the full O’Reilly Factor interview below:
