Marco Rubio on Immigration

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Marco Rubio answered my letter--

Dear Mr. Anderson, Thank you for writing me to express your concerns regarding the immigration system in the United States. I understand this is an important issue and I appreciate hearing your thoughts.

I strongly believe that America deserves an immigration system that secures our borders, upholds the rule of law, and that works for our economy. For too long, leaders of both parties have failed to deliver. As a result, America now suffers from three critical immigration problems.

First, despite the fact that we are the most generous country in history of the world in allowing people to come here legally, we still have a broken border that enables people to come here illegally, while others overstay visas. Second, we have a legal immigration system that is misguided and no longer works. It is primarily built upon the basis of whether an applicant has a relative living here, rather than the basis of what applicants can contribute to our country. Third, we have by many accounts an estimated 12 million people, many of whom have been here longer than a decade, who are here illegally.

Simply stated, the current system is broken and I share the American peoples' frustration about it. We cannot deal with all three of these problems in one massive piece of legislation. Moreover, the Obama Administration, through unconstitutional executive orders, has only exacerbated the problem. The only way forward is through a sequence of legislation focused on finally solving these challenges.

First, it is critically important that we secure our physical borders with a physical wall on the southern border, sufficient manpower, and deployment of technology. In addition to securing our borders, we need an entry and exit tracking system that accounts for the estimated 40 percent of the current illegal population who came to our country lawfully on visas only to overstay. Additionally, we must implement a mandatory e-verify system and hold accountable those who would employ illegal immigrant labor.

With these steps in place and the border secure, Congress should then begin the work of modernizing our immigration system. An immigration system for the 21st century will be judged by whether it provides the conditions for both security and economic growth, while protecting American workers from abuses.

Once the federal government has delivered on these important responsibilities, I believe we can then debate how to address the status of those who have been living here illegally but otherwise have obeyed our laws.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve you in the United States Senate. I appreciate you offering your opinion on immigration reform, and will keep them in mind as Congress addresses related issues. If I can ever be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely, Marco Rubio
United States Senator

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