U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, in releasing a pseudo-amnesty plan that would give about 11 million people currently living illegally in the country a chance to obtain legal residency, told The Wall Street Journal the proposal is not blanket amnesty or a special pathway to citizenship.
The proposal offered by Rubio -- who has previously spoken in favor of reforming the nations immigration policy as a counter to the DREAM Act -- is designed to help the nation attract skilled workers and maintain its agricultural base.
I don't think that in the 21st century we can continue to have an immigration system where only 6.5 percent of people who come here, come here based on labor and skill, Rubio stated in the interview posted Saturday. We have to move toward merit- and skill-based immigration."
The DREAM Act sets a path for citizenship for young people brought illegally into the U.S. by their parents.
Rubio claims he put his own immigration efforts on hold after President Obama, in last summer's run-up to the fall elections, announced he would suspended deportations of young people if they were working toward degrees in higher education or were in the U.S. military.
Rubio told the Journal that Obamas stance may have hurt reform while scoring points for the Democrats, with polls showing the president garnered more than 70 percent of the Hispanic vote. He's poisoned the well for people willing to take on this issue," Rubio told the Journal.
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Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
