Marco Rubio still has the support of Gov. Rick Scott, but Rubios immigration reform plan is drawing fire from some of his allies in Florida and in national conservative circles.
Talking to the media on Tuesday, according to a report from the Miami Herald, Scott had kind words for Rubios proposal, noting that it would improve border security.
We need to have a discussion about how we improve immigration, Scott told the media. Im glad theyre focused on border security. If we dont have border security, its hard to get something accomplished. But Im glad Senator Rubio is focused on it.
Ive reviewed the plan, Scott added before praising Rubio. Hes doing the right thing. Hes very focused on border security.
As the leader of the Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group in the Senate pushing the immigration reform bill which would create a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal aliens while increasing border security, Rubio, one of the leading Republican presidential possibilities in 2016, has upset many conservatives.
So far, Rubio and the Gang of Eight have had some success in pushing immigration reform. With Vice President Joe Biden presiding over the chamber, on June 27 the U.S. Senate passed the immigration reform bill backed by the Gang of Eight. Both of Floridas two senators -- Democrat Bill Nelson and Rubio -- supported the bill. The final vote was 68-32.
While Rubio was one of the most vocal champions of the bill, only 13 other Republicans voted to support it: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Jeff Chiesa of New Jersey, Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Dean Heller of Nevada, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Mark Kirk of Illinois, Orrin Hatch of Utah, John McCain of Arizona, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Already conservatives and tea party activists are planning to primary some of the Republicans who backed immigration reform. For example, South Carolina state Sen. Lee Bright is considering offering a primary challenge to Graham next year while, earlier this month, conservatives in Tennessee announced they were looking for a candidate to battle Alexander in the 2014 primary.
With conservative discontent against it rising, the immigration reform bill now heads to the House, where its chances are slim. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said he will only bring it up if a majority of the GOP caucus, which controls the chamber, supports it. Based on the Senate vote, where less than a third of Republicans supported the bill, that could be a tough sell, especially as conservatives increasingly stand against it.
One prominent Republican congressman from Florida came out swinging against the Gang of Eights proposal this week. In a message to constituents, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, who represents much of the Panhandle, offered kind words for the HR 1417, dubbed by supporters the Border Security Results Act, being backed by U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich.
HR 1417, which has passed the House Homeland Security Committee, would require a baseline assessment within 90 days of passage to gauge the current state of operational control and situational awareness of the border and identify high traffic areas and the current illegal border crossing effectiveness rates for every sector in the nation, Miller wrote constituents. From there the bill would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop a strategy to achieve at least 90 percent operational and situational control of the border."
Miller slammed the Senate bill, insisting it could start a massive amnesty process while praising the House bill. The Border Security Results Act sets 90 percent as the minimum requirement and includes no triggers because the only intent of the bill is to secure our borders, Miller insisted.
The Panhandle congressman also praised HR 2278, dubbed the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement (SAFE) Act by supporters. The bill is being sponsored by U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.
This common-sense measure would grant states and local law enforcement agencies the authority to enforce federal immigration laws, while also protecting communities from dangerous criminal aliens by making it more difficult for foreign nationals who pose a national security risk to enter the country and making it easier to deport those who are currently here, Miller wrote. The bill also protects American taxpayers by ensuring that no immigration benefits can be provided to immigrants until all required background and security checks are completed, and it also allows Border Patrol agents to better do their job by prohibiting the Department of Interior and the Department of Agriculture from preventing these agents access to federal lands within 100 miles of the border.
Miller contrasted the SAFE Act with the immigration reform bill that passed the Senate last month.
Rather than looking to grant amnesty for millions of individuals who have broken our laws, thereby encouraging even more individuals to immigrate illegally in the future in hopes that they too will one day be granted amnesty, the SAFE Act would improve our internal immigration enforcement and prevent dangerous criminals from taking root in American communities, Miller insisted.
Miller had been an early Rubio supporter in the 2010 election cycle. In June 2009 when then-Gov. Charlie Crist was ahead in the polls for the Republican nomination in the Senate contest, Miller threw his support behind Rubio.
Miller is not the only Rubio supporter who is parting ways with him on immigration. On Tuesday, the editors of two of the most prominent conservative magazines in the nation -- Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard and Rich Lowry of National Review--teamed up to publish a piece calling for House Republicans to oppose the Senate immigration reform bill.
We are conservatives who have differed in the past on immigration reform, with Kristol favorably disposed toward it and Lowry skeptical, they wrote. But the Gang of Eight has brought us into full agreement: Their bill, passed out of the Senate, is a comprehensive mistake. House Republicans should kill it without reservation.
Kristol and Lowry called out Rubio by name in their op-ed.
Marco Rubio says he doesnt want to have to come back 10 years from now and deal with the same illegal-immigration problem, Kristol and Lowry wrote. But thats exactly what the CBO says will happen under his own bill. According to the CBO analysis of the bill, it will reduce illegal immigration by as little as a third or by half at most. By one estimate, this means there will be about 7.5 million illegal immigrants here in 10 years. And this is under the implausible assumption that the Obama administration would administer the law as written.
While the two conservative magazines have generally been favorable to Rubio since he emerged on the national stage during the 2010 Senate contest against Crist, Kristol and Lowry called for his bills demise on Tuesday.
House Republicans may wish to pass incremental changes to the system to show that they have their own solutions, even though such legislation is very unlikely to be taken up by the Senate, Kristol and Lowry wrote. Or they might not even bother, since Senate Democrats say such legislation would be dead on arrival. In any case, House Republicans should make sure not to allow a conference with the Senate bill. House Republicans cant find any true common ground with that legislation. Passing any version of the Gang of Eights bill would be worse public policy than passing nothing. House Republicans can do the country a service by putting a stake through its heart.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at 904-521-3722
