As President Obama prepares to relaunch his drive for an immigration overhaul Tuesday in Las Vegas, where heavy turnout by Latino voters in November helped seal his reelection, Marco Rubio is pre-butting with an op-ed in Sunday’s edition of the Las Vegas Review Journal.
“In the past, efforts to accommodate the undocumented have failed because the enforcement measures were never implemented. That’s why this option to apply for a green card and get in the back of the line should not be made available until it is certified that significant progress has been made on enforcement of our immigration laws. Both sides should want this kind of common-sense reform. To those concerned about illegal immigration, what we have now is de facto amnesty. To those looking to help the undocumented, families will continue being separated by deportations as long as politicians keep bickering and trying to outdo each other. I’ve been encouraged by the support for these ideas I’ve found across the political spectrum, and my hope is President Obama will use his voice and influence to further this approach. However, if what he offers is a process for the undocumented that is more lenient, faster and unfair to those waiting to come legally, it won’t bode well for reform.”
