Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio pushed back on CNN host Jake Tapper in a disagreement over whether asylum leads to citizenship in the failed border security deal.
Rubio appeared on “State of the Union” to talk about the ongoing border crisis and the recently failed bipartisan Senate Border Security Agreement. During an interview with the Florida senator, Mr. Tapper asked Mr. Rubio whether he thought the Border Patrol union's previous support for the deal was wrong. (Related: Sen. Chris Murphy, MSNBC host says illegal immigrants are 'the people we care about most')
“They say this is better than nothing and should be the law. Are you saying the Border Patrol union is wrong?” Tapper asked.
Rubio said the deal is “not better than nothing” and called Border Patrol union support for the deal “wrong.” Mr. Rubio went on to say that the bill would “basically” create “asylum courts” and create a large-scale project that he sees as ultimately giving thousands of immigrants a “path to citizenship.” emphasized the problems.
“Yes, if they still believe that, they are wrong. It's better than nothing. This bill includes some things we need to do, including changes to asylum standards. Here's what else this bill did: It basically created asylum courts. It created thousands of bureaucrats, basically asylum agents, who “We will be empowered to allow people into the border with immediate work permits, whereas currently we have to wait six months,” Rubio said.
“If we give them immediate work permits, more people will come. That's a big magnet. Alternatively, we could have the power to release them immediately and grant them asylum, which would give them until they get citizenship. This is what many Democrats want. They want to turn large numbers of undocumented immigrants into citizens and voters. They know who let them into the country, so they thank them and hope they will turn around and vote for them in future elections. That's a big problem. It doesn't solve the border problem, it makes it worse. Thing.”
Tapper then said “unequivocally” that the bill would not provide a path to citizenship, but Rubio countered with the CNN host, saying “absolutely it will.” (Related: Exclusive: 'This is our chance' — Top Republican senators game to oust McConnell over failed border deal)
“Just to be clear, this doesn't provide a path to citizenship for these people. But it…” Tapper said before being interrupted.
“Yes, that's right. Absolutely. No, no, that's right,” Rubio said. “Getting asylum puts you on the path to citizenship. Once you get asylum, you have one year to get a green card and four years to get citizenship. That's definitely the case. And even if it's a judge or a bureaucrat, these bureaucrats will have the power to grant you asylum.”
Senators have been working together to forge a bipartisan agreement after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson late last year refused to grant additional foreign aid unless it included the crisis at the U.S. southern border.After months of negotiations, the Senate released The long-awaited text for February 4th.
A potential $118 billion deal would include $48 billion to help Ukraine continue its war with Russia, about $16 billion to help Israel fight Hamas, and $54 billion for border security reforms. Presumed. But once the document was released, Republicans quickly denounced the bill. johnson He said if the bill passes the Senate, it would be “dead on arrival.”
