Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Sunday he is on board with former President Donald Trump’s plan to stop the “invasion” of illegal immigrants, including creating a system of mass deportation that would send millions back to their native homelands.
Rubio made the comments during an interview with Kristen Welker, host of “Meet the Press.”
Welker noted that Trump has said he would establish “migrant detention camps” and then utilize the U.S. military to deport “the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country.”
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“It would be the largest deportation operation in American history. Do you support that plan?” she asked Rubio.
“11 million? That was the number ten years ago,” Rubio replied. “We’re talking upwards of 20, 25, maybe 30 million. There’s been almost 10 million people that have entered this country unlawfully in the last three years.”
But, Rubio continued “The answer to your question is yes. We cannot absorb 25, 30 million people who entered this country illegally. They’re here illegally. What country on earth would tolerate that?”
“We don’t even know who … most of these people are. They talk about vetting. Vetting them with what? They’re coming from nations that don’t even have document systems in many cases.”
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“Yes, we are going to have to do something. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to do something dramatic to remove people from this country that are here illegally, especially people we know nothing about,” Rubio added.
“But 10 million, 11 million, that was the number 15 years ago. Today, it’s upwards of probably 25-30 million, maybe more.”
Welker tried to play gotcha, noting that Rubio, when he ran against Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016, called mass deportation not “realistic.”
“The issue has completely changed,” Rubio shot back. “When I said that and back in 2013, when I was involved in immigration reform, we had 11 to 12 million people that had been here for longer than a decade. Now, we’ve had almost that number in the last three years alone from all over the world, including people that, I believe, are terrorists. People, that, I believe, are going to conduct terrorist attacks in this country if given the opportunity. Certainly people that were criminals in their home country.”
“This is not immigration … this is mass migration. Mass migration,” he added. “
This is an invasion of the country and it needs to be dealt with dramatically. And by the way, I don’t – I’m not a big poll follower, but polls show most Americans agree with us on this.”
Rubio also noted how much is at stake in November, arguing that some of the damage Biden has done will be “irreversible” if he gets another four years to cement it in place.
“If Joe Biden is re-elected president, the damage to this country, I believe, in some cases, will be generational, and some of it will be irreversible,” Rubio said. That’s how high the stakes are.”
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“I cannot imagine another four years under Joe Biden as president. And I will do virtually anything to ensure that Donald Trump wins and that Joe Biden does not because we can’t afford as a nation to have another four years like the last three and a half.”
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