Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been working on a plan to reform the country’s immigration laws. (Photo courtesy of Marco Rubio.)
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
President Obama is expected to take on immigration reform in his State of the Union address this month, but only after Sen. Marco Rubio takes a stab at it first.
Rubio has been working on a plan to reform the country’s immigration laws, while also trying to corral support among fellow Republicans for his ideas. So far, the majority of Rubio’s party has been ardently opposed to potential reform measures including amnesty and have even pushed for tighter border security. Finding middle ground between the GOP’s mostly rigid immigration policy preferences and Democrats in an effort to create some real reform has proven impossible in previous years. But things could be different with Rubio in play.
Getting Republicans on board would be difficult for anyone who attempts to sponsor immigration reform, but it might be easiest for Florida’s junior senator, who has had the support of the party since his hard-right Senate campaign in 2010.
If Rubio can pull it off, a 2016 presidential candidacy would appear even more in his sights, The National Journal reports:
By describing a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws in The Wall Street Journal on Saturday that would smooth a course for both high-skilled immigrants and farmworkers, Rubio answered a question that’s dogged his first two years in Washington: Is he willing to lead? Though Rubio has yet to put pen to paper in the form of legislation and delve into the nitty-gritty details, his initiative may dampen criticism that the charismatic politician is more style than substance.
That criticism gained momentum earlier this year when Rubio proposed allowing young illegal immigrants who attend college or join the military to stay in this country. But a bill never materialized and President Obama stole the spotlight by issuing an executive order giving those young people temporary legal status. This time, Rubio appears to be trying to get out ahead of the president, who is expected to talk about his immigration plan in the State of the Union speech next month.
So far, though, Rubio is skirting a tough line. According to the Journal, “Rubio is choosing his words carefully, insisting his plan ‘is not blanket amnesty or a special pathway to citizenship.’ ”
Rubio’s plan would have the most power if he releases it before Obama’s State of the Union address. GOP strategists have said it would save him from looking like he was simply reacting to the president’s ideas.
Most importantly, the Republican Party is reeling from a political fight they lost over demographics. President Obama’s first term in office saw 1 million deportations, many of which were of non-violent criminals. Despite the crackdown, however, Obama won the 2012 election handily with strong support from Latinos, the group most affected by the president’s immigration crackdowns.
The GOP has a lot of work to do to make inroads with the Latino community. If real immigration reform were to pass at the behest of a Republican, it could be a step toward gaining Latino support for the GOP — support Rubio would need if he chooses to run for president in 2016.
BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE..?
It’s yet another form of corruption where illegal immigration has become a standard of big business “Ruling the Roost”. After the 1986 promise never to submit a bill for another Comprehensive Immigration Reform or some type of Amnesty, Obama and his mob of Inquisitors who don’t respect the Constitution are pushing for another Path to Citizenship for 20 million plus foreign nationals who spit on our laws. Another policy as before will just attract millions more people in poverty adding to our own. The quota system years back worked very well, but it was not good enough for the special interests, organized religion, unions and other inept organizations. Certain nationalities gained a working visa to enter the United States and it was a FAIR AND EQUITY way for individuals to immigrate. All we have to do is enforce the laws we have now, including passing most prominent laws that sit dormant ready to be voted on? These are Legal Workforce Act and the Birthright Citizenship bill. In the long run these laws could save taxpayers Trillions of dollars in education, health treatments for every illegal family, homes for low income and a load of benefits for the children of illegal aliens smuggled calculatingly into America. Using E-Verify and its growing innovations to electronically locate and deport illegal workers in jobs, which should belong to the 24 millions of Americans and the less fortunate existing on the streets. Our population is growing every year from legal and illegal immigration, with a proportion managing to gain entrance through CHAIN MIGRATION of immediate family members and there is a rising need to reduce it, otherwise we will have shortages of portable water, energy supplies and chaos on the crumbling road systems and retirement for people who never paid a cent into the system. Learn more from around the country with the lies and propaganda from the Liberal Progressives from the true believer in the Rule of Law at the “AMERICAN PATROL site.
Then again, until the special interest money is taken away from Congress, the general public hardly has any say in the policies of any administration? The rot inside the beltway is so intense, the little guy, the small politicians with expectations becomes malleable to their own parties. Ron Paul is correct that the Federal Reserve is as corrupt as any lawmaker. The 41 million plus TEA PARTY states that if you grew up in the in the 1950s and 1960s, you remember a time when the average husband could easily support his family – without putting his wife to work. You remember a banking system that was a good, honest steward of your money. And you remember when a dollar was a dollar… and every dime and quarter was made of 90% silver. Today, millions of two-income families are struggling to make ends meet. The same $1 that once bought you three gallons of gas will only buy you one-third of a gallon. And the price of everything else, from health care to food to electricity and even college tuition continues to soar. Make no mistake; this dollar crisis is destroying the American middle class. And one organization has been its chief architect: The Federal Reserve. Did you know…Thanks to the actions of the Fed, the basic necessities of life have become so expensive, according to a recent National Retirement Confidence Survey, 70% of American workers plan to work for pay after they retire. It’s true.
And I’m sure you’ve noticed how much harder it is to plan for the future and confidently invest in the stock market. Everything we’ve worked for is at risk of being taken away. All the wars Americans have died for to claim our freedom from dictatorship, is slowly fading as those in power are accumulating votes by pampering not only illegal aliens but the freeloaders, who have no intention of working for a living. All those people who voted for King Obama and his Imperial court must be mystified by more and more dollars being extracted by his administration and not just from wealthy amongst us. And a growing number of Americans are saying, “Enough is enough. This madness has to stop!” Here at The Project to Restore America – we fully support Ron Paul’s push to Audit the Fed. And we’re encouraged to see a new bill has been introduced by Congressman Paul Broun this year. But a major showdown waits in Washington DC, where powerful forces are plotting to crush any attempt to bring transparency to the Federal Reserve. My question to you is – will you let them to continue to gut the value of the dollar… or… choose to fight back? I’m not asking for your money. Nor am I asking you to attend a political rally. But we need to let our Congressmen hear this message loud and clear: It’s time to Audit the Fed! We’ve created a special one-click petition that will ensure your Congressman knows where you stand in the weeks ahead. If you are with me and share in Ron Paul’s sentiments on this issue go to “The Project to Restore America”. As individuals we may be helpless to challenge the powers that be. But together we are strong enough to flood Washington with support for this historic bill…and return fiscal sanity to our country.