After meeting with Central American leaders on Thursday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has called for an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program–President Barack Obama’s 2012 amnesty program, via executive order, for illegal alien minors.
“The U.S. must also make clear that the Deferred Action program, or any law or policy for that matter, does not and will not apply to any recent arrivals,” Rubio said in a statement his office provided to Breitbart News. He continued:
Furthermore, because the recent wave from Central America spiked after DACA was announced, it is in our interest to wind down this program. If you are not currently in it, you should not be eligible for it. For President Obama to raise hopes it may actually be unilaterally expanded is irresponsible and threatens to make this problem even worse.
The statement, which came in response to Rubio’s meeting with Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, and El Salvadorian Foreign Minister Hugo Martínez, also calls for the United States to work to help those other countries stop the flow of illegal immigration.
“For reasons of national security and economic prosperity, the U.S. has a clear interest in helping Central American countries become safe and stable communities built on strong foundations of democracy, the rule of law and free enterprise,” Rubio said. “Unfortunately, the recent wave of illegal immigration has reminded us of how fragile these foundations are in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras,” which, he said, permits “drug cartels and violent criminals to wreak havoc on these countries and dim their people’s hopes of a better future.”
Rubio did not address any specific proposals, but his words echoed calls from Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) to address Obama’s executive actions as a root cause of the crisis.
“As Congress prepares to consider spending proposals to address these problems, we need to make sure that there are adequate resources to deal with the ongoing wave in an expeditious and humanitarian manner, while also providing lasting solutions that discourage illegal immigration,” Rubio said. “This includes additional fencing, manpower, and technology resources on the southwest border, as well as stronger interior enforcement provisions.”
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