Immigration Reform News 2015: Florida Lawmaker Criticizes Rubio for Supposedly Changing Stance on Immigration
The head of the United States' Democratic National Committee has criticized Senator Marco Rubio, a possible presidential candidate, for supposedly changing his stance on and not fully understanding immigration issues.
US Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida's 23rd congressional district, accused Senator Rubio of reversing his stand on immigration reform, just to further his political ambition.
"Marco Rubio needs to first figure out which way the wind is blowing when it comes to committing on his position on any given issue. He was for immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship before he was against it," Schultz was quoted on the Sun Sentinel website as saying.
"It is really unfortunate that he [Rubio] has chosen the most politically expedient path on issues that matter the most to people here in Florida," the representative added.
The Weston congresswoman issued these statements to reporters on Friday in Fort Lauderdale, while Rubio was in Miami Beach to organize his supporters to his so-called "Team Marco" — adding more hints to speculations that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
PolitiFact.com, a project operated by The Tampa Times to fact-check statements made by politicians, however adjudged Wasserman Schultz' accusations against Senator Rubio as "mostly false."
In an article analyzing Rubio's stance on immigration reform throughout the years, PolitiFact said Rubio did not change his views on the underlying policy issues, but softened his opinion on how the legislation should be passed.
According to the website, Rubio supported a single, bipartisan Senate bill in April 2013 which gives people the opportunity to seek "registered provisional immigrant status." The proposed legislation also pushed for greater border security before unauthorized immigrants are allowed to correct their legal status.
Rubio later on supported a different approach to this legislation, which was passing a series of bills to amend immigration laws.