Florida Senator Marco Rubio has proposed that Congress pass a series of bills rather than one large immigration bill. He believes that immigration is such a broad issue affecting so many different people that it is almost impossible to find a quick way to pass a bill that everyone agrees on.
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The small bills that would be passed aim to help foreign entrepreneurs, technology workers, agricultural workers and the youth brought to the U.S. unlawfully by their parents. “Portions of immigration reform can be dealt with quicker than others.” This is why Rubio suggests Congress focus on passing bills that can be placed into effect right away and work on the parts of immigration that will take longer. While Republicans received low support from Latino voters in the past presidential election, they have chosen Rubio to lead immigration policy negotiations on their behalf. Some members of Congress dislike Rubio’s approach to take the immigration bill in parts. They fear that there will still be no path to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. President Obama promised to address immigration “very soon” in his new term. With no set date, Congress is attempting to get the issue out of the way quickly. Rubio proposes taking it slower and ensuring that each piece of immigration reform is thoroughly considered. There is no magic solution that will fix this broken system. It takes time to look at the various aspects affecting immigration and the people involved in the system. "We're not talking about plagues of locusts, we're talking about people," he said.
Rubio is optimistic about creating a pathway to citizenship and promises it will be more than 50%. “Rubio said that adding tighter requirements for employers who hire immigrants and tougher border security should also be passed before offering a pathway to legal status for the large number of undocumented.” Rubio acknowledges that the Republican Party has allowed itself to be seen as the “anti-illegal immigration party” for the longest time, but they are ready to move forward as the “pro-legal immigration party.” Immigrants are necessary to fill the gap we have with unemployment and deserve to be treated fairly.
A day prior to Rubio’s comments, former President George W. Bush gave a speech addressing the need for immigration to be approached “with a benevolent spirit.” He spoke of the benefits immigrants bring with new skills and ideas. He champions the idea of creating a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people living in the U.S. unlawfully at the moment. Rubio has proposed yet another way to address immigration reform. Whether or not his idea will pass, it would certainly be easier to get both sides of the aisle to agree on bills if they were addressed as smaller bills rather than trying to fix various parts of the broken immigration system in one giant bill. If you have questions regarding current and changing immigration laws in Missouri, contact us at 314-961-8200 or visit our contact page.