Sen. Marco Rubio on president's immigration plan, and why he fired his chief of staff
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, says that Congress needs a "plan B" should Republicans not gain the necessary support to pass President Trump's proposed immigration reform plan. In an interview with "CBS This Morning" Wednesday, Rubio said he believes changes on issues like so-called "chain migration" and the visa lottery should able to pass the Senate with Democratic support.
He added, however, that "if somehow we just can't get those things done, we should have a 'plan B' that basically focuses on border security and focuses on making sure that the people here under DACA now do not lose their status, give them something permanent."
During Tuesday night's State of the Union address, Mr. Trump called for new limits on family or chain migration, claiming that "a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives."
A CBS News fact check revealed, however, that the claim was not true. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a U.S. citizen can petition for a spouse; unmarried children under 21; sons and daughters who are married and/or over 21; parents, for those 21 and over; and siblings of those 21 and over. A green card holder can petition for spouses, unmarried children under 21, and an unmarried son or daughter of any age.
Rubio said the president's aim to further restrict the number of relatives an immigrant can apply to bring into the United States is a change that "almost every other country in the world now has," adding that it would be a change from "family reunification to the nuclear family."
Rubio also addressed the recent firing of his chief of staff after receiving reports of the aide's "improper conduct" with subordinate staffers.
"Every case is different and people deserve the right of the accused to present their side, in this particular case I was presented with compelling and overwhelming evidence, indisputable, and I needed to act on immediately. You have to act on it immediately once you know something. You can not continue to expose people on your staff to that," Rubio told "CBS This Morning."
The Florida Republican said in a statement that he was made aware of the allegations late last week and flew from Florida to Washington D.C. over the weekend to terminate the aide's employment "effective immediately."
Rubio's office said it "will not be disclosing any further details about the incidents which occurred" at the wishes of those victimized. And Rubio's office plans to notify appropriate congressional and Senate administrative offices of this situation.
"The problem with discussing details, this is why the victims and the people that came forward do not want to be publicly identified," Rubio said.
He added, "If I say enough details about this, people will be able to figure out who it is, it's one of those kinds of cases and so if they ever decide to come forward publicly I will support them 100 percent, but that's not where they are, I'm going to honor it because if i don't, I'm going to tell you what happens, then people will be afraid to come forward because they don't want that to be part of their search engine results for the rest of their lives."
While the release did not mention his fired chief of staff by name, Clint Reed had assumed the position in late 2016.
