While Republican senator and presidential candidate nominee Marco Rubio is generally regarded as being more open to comprehensive immigration reform than any other Republican candidate, with the exception of Jeb Bush, a number of activists have furiously criticized a “fatal flaw” in his policy that they say will result in no reform even if Rubio were to win the White House in 2016.
America’s Voice executive director and founder Frank Sharry angrily denounced the senator’s immigration plan during an interview with Business Insider, claiming that despite appearances Rubio is not actually on the same track as Jeb Bush and that his plans will never go anywhere.
Rubio was once seen as a staunch supporter of immigration reform and was even one of the Gang of Eight responsible for a comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013, only to stall in the House of Representatives. Since then Rubio has changed tack and now says that illegal hiring and border security need to be dealt with before other aspects of immigration reform – such as changing the US visa system and legalizing the millions of undocumented immigrants already in the country – can be addressed.
Sharry says that Rubio’s current stance is a trick designed to keep Latino voters and immigration advocates on side while appealing to the Republican conservative base. “He wants people to think he’s for reform when, in fact, his approach means no reform ever,” Sharry says, adding: “The right loves it, because they know that immigration reform will never happen under his plan.”