As the immigration reform debate prepares to hit the stage in Congress, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., one of the lead voices on the push to pass immigration reform, said this week that contrary to popular belief, Republicans are largely in favor of immigration reform.
Rubio, who was part of the bipartisan "gang of eight" that crafted the current immigration bill up for debate, told CNBC on Tuesday on "Squawk Box" that the bill, which was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, was a good "starting point."
Later this month, the full Senate is expected to start the debate over the bill, which will include a conditional pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. and provisions to secure the border. However, with the bill looking closer to fruition after surviving a trial by fire in the judiciary committee. However, some conservatives on Capitol Hill have been more vocal in the last few weeks regarding their reluctance to pass the bill, a few critics likening the bill to amnesty for immigrants living illegally in the U.S.
Sen. Rubio said that while conservatives are split on the pathway to citizenship proposal, a majority of them support immigration reform if the proposed law would permanently solve the problems on immigration.
Tuesday has seen Sen. Rubio on other talk shows such as "Fox and Friends," where he spent time discussing the bill with radio host Laura Ingraham. Sen. Rubio reiterated a previous doubt that the bill had the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to avoid a filibuster and pass to the House.
"I think even the Democrats would conceded that," he added, noting that the public is largely reluctant that the government could enforce immigration law if passed. "People don't trust the Department of Homeland Security to do the job or to come up with a plan that will do the job," he said.
Ingraham, who has voiced her opposition to immigration reform in the past, suggested during the interview that immigration reform should be done separately and that the Senate should "stop dividing the Republican Party" through the subject and focus instead on helping the economic recovery.
Sen. Rubio countered that immigration reform was an economic issue and thus is related to the recovery of the U.S. economy.
"Then do that separately," Ingraham tolld the senator.
"The problem is that they're all interrelated," Sen. Rubio replied.
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