Marco Rubio's immigration policy would have denied US access to his Cuban parents. Had his merit-based scheme been enacted in the 1950s, Mario and Oriales Rubio would not have stepped on Floridan soil.
On Wednesday's MSNBC forum, the junior Republican senator answered affirmatively when asked if his policy would have shut out his parents. He explained that lowly-educated immigrants would really struggle to find work under his policy, as per The Hill.
"When my parents arrived in the US in 1956, my dad had a fourth-grade education, maybe. My mom had about the same," Rubio admitted. "If they came today under those circumstances, they would really struggle to succeed."
Claire Landsbaum of New York considered Rubio's brutal honesty as a last-minute attempt to salvage his plummeting ratings. Before his immigration comment, it can be remembered that Rubio took a jab at Donald Trump's small hands.
Landsbaum added that Rubio's policy isn't revolutionary. She said the idea a merit-based immigration system hasn't been well-received by the general public since it prioritizes formal education and employment while disregarding the role of women in the domestic setting.
Rubio stressed that unless immigrants have a particular skill set or have attained a certain level of education, they wouldn't find a sustainable job in the US. He argued that the country's immigration policy has to conform to the changing times. However, that doesn't mean immigrants have to be super smart or have illustrious academic backgrounds.
"And so, today in the 21st century, the immigration policy has to be primarily based on merit," said Rubio. "That doesn't mean everyone's a Ph.D. It does mean when you come in you should be able to prove what skills you'll be able to bring to the U.S."
According to the latest figures by Real Clear Politics, Donald Trump still leads the Florida Republican presidential primary by 19 points. Rubio sits at the second spot with 24 points, followed by Ted Cruz and John Kasich with 21 and 10 points, respectively.
