Feb 22, 2012

Rubio calls on GOP to be 'pro-legal immigration'

By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY Updated 26m ago

Sen. Marco Rubio says the Republican Party has to overhaul its message on immigration and do more to reach out to Hispanics.

In an interview with Time magazine, the freshman senator from Florida and frequently mentioned vice presidential pick said his party needs to change its rhetoric and position itself as the "pro-legal immigration party."

"What's the Republican legal-*immigration plan? And that's a problem, when all they hear from you is what you're against and not what you're for," Rubio told Time, in excerpts posted online today ahead of a cover story.

Rubio, who is Cuban-American, said the GOP needs two things: "a common*sense, compassionate yet law-based response to people that are here without documents, and a robust legal-*immigration system that *emphasizes border security, worker security and an workable visa program."

Rubio's comments expand on some of the thoughts he shared at a Hispanic leadership conference in Miami last month, held before the Florida primary. They are similar to remarks made by former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who has said the GOP needs to win back Latinos who have "drifted away" from the party, in part over harsh rhetoric on immigration.

It is likely that immigration will be a topic at tonight's GOP presidential debate in Arizona. That state passed a law in 2010 requiring police to question the immigration status of people they detain when there is "reasonable suspicion" they are in the United States illegally.

Rubio calls on GOP to be 'pro-legal immigration'