At the time this column went to press, the Gang of Eight’s Immigration Reform Bill had not been made public. Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Florida) made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows. The words “responsible” and “earned” were two of the most important words I heard him use on Meet The Press to describe some of the fine points of the anticipated recommendations.
Monday April 15’s front page of The Washington Times featured an article by Stephen Dinan and David Eldridge (“Immigration Draft lays Out Contentious Points System”) referencing Rubio’s TV appearances. They report that illegal immigrants would be granted immediate legal status, but would have to wait years until being granted permanent legal residency which is a key point to citizenship. Rubio has said that it is not intended for newly legalized immigrants to receive benefits, but in a letter to the Gang of Eight (Republicans Rubio, McCain, Graham, and Flake along with Democrats Durbin, Schumer, Menendez and Bennet) Senators Session, Grassley and Roberts stated “Once the present illegal population receives green cards, they will be eligible under current law for a wide array of federal welfare programs…”.
The Times article states that under the system described in the draft, the points systems would award points for education, U.S. work experience, English proficiency and having family in the U.S. Rubio contends that it is not feasible to deport the 11 million illegal immigrants who are here already. The plan proposes to make illegal immigrants wait a significant amount of time before gaining citizenship (10-plus years), to pay a fine and a registration fee and to be employed. Sounds like Rubio is encouraging the creation of a pathway to becoming taxpaying citizens. This could be just what the country needs…
Republican Calendar of Events
…The MDGOP meets this weekend, April 19 – 20 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Hunt Valley, Md. One of the most important orders of business will be to elect a new state party Chairman. Diana Waterman is the current
