Posted on 06/27/2013 2:25:43 AM PDT by Mozilla
WASHINGTON — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio addressed conservative complaints over border security in the Senate immigration reform bill Wednesday, calling allegations doubting its effectiveness “not true.”
“We have a border with Mexico that despite billions of dollars that have already been spent, it’s still not secure,” the Republican “Gang of Eight” senator said. “This proposal mandates the most ambitious border and interior security measures in our nation’s history.”
In a speech on the Senate floor, on a day when the Hoeven-Corker “border surge” amendment was approved, adding $40 billion in new border security provisions, Rubio said the current immigration system encourages illegal immigration — trafficking people, drugs and guns across the border every day.
Eleven million unregistered people that do not pay taxes and face little threat of prosecution are living in the U.S. illegally in what Rubio described as “de facto amnesty.”
“What I’m describing — this is the way things are now. This is the status quo — and it is a terrible mess,” Rubio said.
Rubio went on to address claims by conservatives, including Republican Senate colleague Chuck Grassley from Iowa, that the “border surge” amendment is unenforceable and full of loopholes. According to Grassley, passage will repeat the same mistakes of the 1986 immigration reform law — promising border security after legalization status.
“It continues false promises of a secured border. It ought to be enforcement now and legalization later,” Grassley said before the vote Wednesday.
Citing the immigration bill Rubio co-sponsored and co-wrote, the “Gang of Eight” Republican assured critics that the 11 million current undocumented immigrants will only receive work permits during the first decade of the bill, and will not be eligible for permanent status until after the “border surge” provisions are in place.
Grassley and other Senate Republicans also claim the bill has no Homeland Security teeth, and that the secretary can ignore the border requirement and waive the technology called for in the bill.
“But that’s just not true. The secretary can always add more to the plan, but the list of border security measures we mandate in the legislation is the minimum that must be implemented,” Rubio said.
Further criticisms included future Congress’ ability to defund the bill, that it contains taxpayer-funded subsidies for cars or scooters, and that no one has read what media outlets describe as “a brand new 1100 page bill” — all of which Rubio described as “not true.”
According to Rubio and other Senate Republicans, the money is front loaded into the bill, and cannot be defunded like past border security laws. It contains no vehicle subsidy provision, and is the same bill that’s been available to read for 10 weeks. The only addition being 120 pages of amendments, including those on border security Republicans demanded for passage.
“What’s going to happen (without immigration reform) is we’ll still have a broken immigration system, we won’t have more border patrol officers, we won’t have enough fencing, we still won’t have mandatory E-verify, and we’ll still have 11 million people living here illegally. And that’s why I’m involved in this,” Rubio said.
Rubio triples and quadruples doubling down on stupid. You would think by now he could grasp the fact that he is not believable.
Any scheme with amnesty first means no border security...ever.
“Rubio triples and quadruples doubling down on stupid. You would think by now he could grasp the fact that he is not believable.”
Yeah, he’s pi$$ed in his Wheaties as far as I’m and many conservatives are concerned. He’s a lightweight and if he should be nominated as the GOP candidate he would be crushed by the Democrat smear machine. Simple fact is, he ain’t got the cojones.....
Rubio has been gargling his bathwater — swelled head as be believes his own press and turns into McGrahamnesty.
Marco Rubio is a truly pathetic individual whose desperation becomes more obvious with every lie told.
Bm
The rumors of no border security promises beimg implemented after reagan or the ones he is “promising” this time? Americans are getting weary of the bait and switch programme congress loves to play.
The country would be screwed simply by amnestying those who are here already anyway.
Yeah, right, whatever, Rube.
Democrats Slow to Approve Funding for Border Fence
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas Republican who has led the charge to change the 2006 law, said she wants to give Homeland Security more flexibility and wants local officials and landowners to be consulted.
OK, Rubio, if this mess passes and your predictions are wrong, will you PROMISE to admit it and then have the integrity to DROP OUT of politics forever since you totally botched it and screwed the country permanently?
Based on what I have seen of you recently, you would NEVER make that pledge. It’s that INTEGRITY word.
I voted for this lying punk for Florida Senator.
Boy oh boy was I duped.
I will NOT vote for him again, for anything
When does Mexico step up to the plate?
Mexico is lying in wait----their pressure groups will be hammering candidates----exchanging votes for zillions in US tax dollars (foreign aid and other giveaways vote-crazed pols can dream up).
Power -crazed Ohaha/Dems are gonna turn on the tax tap full force.
LYING IN WAIT The "pressure groups" Mexico threw over the border are lying in wait----conniving to exchange hyphenate votes for tax dollars.
Taxpayers demand oil-rich Mexico vamoose-o the cantinas and the senoritas, and police their own borders.
Don’t feel bad. We knew some tea partiers would be lost to the establishment. Here in Michigan Rep Dan Benishek went full RINO from day 1 and Justin Amash has been mediocre.
On the other hand, some have been solid like Ted Cruz. My congressman Tim Walberg is imperfect but solid on immigration and freshman Kerry Bentivolio has been a regular firebrand.
Mexico and the third World w/ cadres of pressure groups are "lying in wait" for vote-crazed pols to turn on the tax tap full force in exchange for votes at the ballot box.
If these Third World connivers/lawbreakers/invaders dont like the way we run our country-—too dam bad.
They should GTH out ASAP.
Hes a degenerate twerp bullshit artist who thinks he is still dealing with Florida hispanics.
White Americans in the heartland are not as gullible and cannot be so easily dumped
Mexico ....
For heavens sake, just make it the 58th state & be done with this.
It’s ironic that the son of Cuban immigrants, who fled Castro’s Communism for freedom, has done more to destroy the USA than Castro ever seemed possible. Let’s hope he gets a real opponent in the Fl. primary........maybe someone like Allan West.
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