Rubio Defends Romney's Immigration Record
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida Senator Marco Rubio has been careful not to endorse either Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney for president possibly to protect his potential vice-presidency ambition. But after a new ad came out accusing Romney of being anti-immigrant came out, Senator Rubio came to his defense.
"This kind of language is more than just unfortunate," Rubio told CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald. "It's inaccurate, inflammatory, and doesn't belong in this campaign. The truth is that neither of these two men is anti-immigrant. Both are pro-legal immigration and both have positive messages that play well in the Hispanic community."
But, Romney has drawn criticism from some immigration activists for having Kris Kobach so prominent in his campaign. Kobach is currently the Kansas secretary of state, but is also the architect of the highly controversial Arizona immigration law.
Romney has called for a form of "self-deportation" by barring illegal immigrants from working so that declining employment might force them to return to their home country. Gingrich has slammed the idea and said it's not based in reality.
Gingrich said his immigrant policy is more "humane" and would allow the U.S. to provide a path to residency, but not full citizenship to some workers. In addition, Gingrich said that he would support the DREAM Act's provision that would allow immigrants to serve in the military to gain residency to the U.S.
For either Romney or Gingrich, staying on Senator Rubio's good side will be paramount heading into the general election. Whoever Rubio eventually endorses will gain some traction in the Latino community, and putting him on the ticket as a vice-president could swing Florida in the candidates favor.
