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Rubio: We're not having an immigration bidding war

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    GOP senator on bipartisan proposal, president's agenda

  • Duration 6:08
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Major driver headlines today president -- announcing his plan for immigration reform leaving the White House shortly that's a plan that we're hearing.

Provides a faster -- to -- -- way to citizenship.

And a day after a Republican and democratic senators laid out their plan and senator Marco Rubio was one of them.

I spoke to the Republican senator out of Florida just a bit earlier today.

Senator rubio good morning to you welcome back you're America's Newsroom.

The president will speak later today in Las Vegas.

Do you expect him to blow up your plan.

Well first of all I think I won't.

Reserve judgment till the president's speech the early reports are the president -- seems like he's trying to start a bidding war and we're not gonna do an immigration bidding war.

That we have a set of principles I've been talking about them for a number of weeks.

Fortunately there's a group of senate Democrats and Republicans here who had similar principles we were able to join together to announce those principles.

And now we're gonna start working on turning those principles and took a bill into law and obviously at some point that's just -- starting point because we have all our other members here in the senate that have their opinions.

It -- the president -- this is as an opportunity to move this issued at the -- to try to outbid us on immigration.

I think that speaks poorly for the future outcome of this that entire endeavor because we -- that is is that solving the problem is that is that your expectation for him today that.

Well that's what I've read already in the press for example one of the things that I think is critical is not to repeat the mistakes of 1986.

The last time this country dealt with -- illegal immigration and what it did as a legalized three million people but it did nothing about enforcement.

And the result as we now have eleven million people at its peak of twelve million people.

In this country where there weren't documented.

We can't repeat this mistake now it's my understanding from early press reports today that the president does not want that requirement in there he does not want enforcement before we move.

To the cart path and I think that will be a terrible mistake.

We have a bipartisan group of senators that have agreed to that for the president to try to move the goalposts on that specific requirement is an example.

Does not bode well in terms of what his -- going to be in this or or the outcome of -- fire and did two more questions and that was it important for you to go public first yesterday.

Well listen we were working on this proposal for a time so have my own principles.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Someone has a real plan to solve our -- -- work with them and this is a real issue within the principles that -- outlined I'm willing to work with anybody globalization we're ready to -- you -- -- was -- -- -- to get navigate first on this.

Well I think it's -- -- people know where we stand and I've been talking about this opportunity three weeks listen.

If people don't know where you stand on something your opposition won't tell them where you stand and I guarantee you.

They're not gonna say the truth.

So we wanted to make sure we were very clear -- people about where we're four and what we're not for.

From there were three or four Republicans in three or four Democrats on that stage yesterday.

And I saw I'm assuming that there were some sort of coordination with the White House.

What why -- there I've never while I've never spoken to the White House about this issue I think they've.

Spoken to the press a lot more than ever spoken to -- -- the where one phone call last week as a courtesy call but that's OK I don't need to talk to the White House to outline of my principles are where the lawmakers that that we've forgotten this around here.

We have a constitution that creates a system of government.

And that system says that lawmakers write the laws.

Not the president and the president decides really wants to sign them or veto them and that's what I intend to be part of writing the laws and -- whether he agreed to that or not is up to him.

That there are critics who suggest that if this goes forward you're simply adding millions.

To the government dole.

There're some and I kind of -- that as many as six million illegals would get some form of government assistance.

-- if that's not accurate why is that the case can almost guarantee the legislation that you see you spelled out so far.

Will prevent that.

Well I won't support -- bill does that I can tell you that much and that's not what the principal -- in fact the principles are very clear that they do not qualify for federal financial federal benefits.

Under this plan when you come forward and you undergo the background check and you pay back taxes and fines and you're not probationary status you do not qualify for federal benefits we can't afford that.

And and and not this bill will not do that.

There are three aspects to your bill border security is number one I think both sides pretty much agree on that and that's move forward to based on my understanding.

The workplace enforcement which has been dubious at best over the past -- usually.

I years you could argue and then you argue about the tracking the pieces that go in the country and out of the country and you Syria and reference in 1986 that is something assembly was not done.

That's absurd.

But that I -- dereliction of of government duty in law.

But it's it hasn't been a priority but there and here's -- we don't make it a priority now won't happen either.

And the way you make it a priority is you say that this green card process that we describe and our principles.

That process is not even begin to happen until the enforcement mechanisms are certified if -- did not have right line before.

Who's to believe that will happen now.

Well that's why you have to verify it and not the reason why you have to do -- is by the with the way you do that is by saying we're not going to do the process of of green cards.

To just even apply for green card who won't even begin that process.

Until the enforcement stuff -- in place that have to be very clearly spelled out in the language of the bill that's already in the principles that has to be reflected in the bill when the bill was written.

And and that's not the bill I won't support the reason why I support these principles is because it is part of those principles among other things that -- -- One more question on this and I've spoken to you in the past about this and you've been quite eloquent about it.

You believe Hispanic should be in the Republican Party in the first place.

Why is that -- because of limited government and free enterprise is the only way forward for people who were trying to make it.

The government doesn't work -- that's the reason why people coming from all over the world to get away from big government.

Big government crushes the people who were trying to make it -- doesn't help them.

A big government helps the people with power to hire lobbyists and lawyers to figure it all out.

The people who -- trying to make it we're trying to go out and start a business -- at trying to get a better job they need free enterprise and limited government.

And we have to do a better job of making that argument it's a little harder to sell them big government.

But once we sell it.

It's permanent people understand it and they become passionate about it hopefully the way I -- senator thank you Marco -- thank you Chapel Hill with us this morning appreciate your time thank you so.

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