Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio wants to repeal and replace an Obama-era program designed to protect undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as young children, according to an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
Rubio called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) unconstitutional but supported President Donald Trump’s short-term decision to continue the program.
“I’ve said publicly before, that I do think that DACA is gonna have to come to an end at some point, because I do believe it is unconstitutional,” Rubio told host Jake Tapper. “But I also believe that it should be replaced.”
The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that DACA, enacted under former President Barack Obama in 2012, would remain in effect for the time being.
DHS said Friday that there has been no final determination made about the program, clarifying that the Thursday announcement was meant to inform those enrolled under DACA they would not be immediately affected by a separate action.
“I think that the vast majority of Americans would say that if you brought here as a young child, have grown up in this country, it doesn’t make a lot of sense after years of investing in you in our public education system and the like to send you to a country that you perhaps have no memory of,” Rubio explained to Tapper.
DHS said that DACA recipients would continue to be eligible as outlined in the June 15, 2012, memorandum in a FAQ sheet.
“DACA recipients who were issued three-year extensions before the district court’s injunction will not be affected, and will be eligible to seek a two-year extension upon their expiration,” the DHS website says.
“My hope is that as part of this process we can work on a way to deal with this issue and solve it through legislation, which is the right way to do it and the constitutional way to do it,” Rubio concluded.
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