Senator Marco Rubio hasn't had too much to say on the subject of immigration since the Senate passed his comprehensive bill, but he has been on something of a media tour of late to reinsert himself into the conversation. The Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler reports:
In his interview with the Journal, the Florida Republican said he still supports immigration reform, and a spokesman made clear that Mr. Rubio doesn't regret his support for last year's Senate bill, which also called for enhanced border security and an overhaul to the legal visa system.
But his letter to Mr. Obama, sent Tuesday, Mr. Rubio says Congress should abandon efforts to pass a comprehensive bill. He also backed off the idea of "piecemeal" legislation, where different parts of the immigration system are tackled in individual bills. Instead, he said the matter should be addressed in "sequential" pieces of legislation.
The sequence of the Senate bill has always an issue for Rubio. In January of last year, Rubio vowed to walk away from the Gang of Eight if they took a legalization-first approach. In April, Rubio backtracked from his enforcement-first promise. In May, he (wrongly) claimed that his bill would require E-Verify before granting work permits and legal status. Then, in June of 2013, Rubio defended a legalization-first approach to Byron York of The Washington Examiner.
In an interview earlier this week with the very same Byron York, Rubio said that E-Verify and an entry-exit system must be in place before any legalization should be discussed. According to York:
Rubio conceded that such assurances were simply not possible in a comprehensive bill, like the Gang of Eight, that included legalization from the get-go. 'There is really no verification that you could put in a comprehensive bill that would assuage people's fears,' he said...
Stay tuned...
JEREMY BECK is the Director of the Media Standards Project for NumbersUSA
