Luis Gutierrez Labels Marco Rubio Extremist Hypocrite
WASHINGTON & SANTA FE, NM (Dream
Act Info) June
16, 2011
―
Rep.
Luis
Gutierrez
(D-Ill.)
and Sen.
Marco
Rubio
(R-Fla.)
haven't
met
before.
But
Gutierrez,
one of
the
House's
most
passionate
pro-immigration
advocates,
is
getting
personal
with the
freshman
tea-party
senator,
labeling
him an
"extremist"
and
saying
his
Cuban-born
parents
benefitted
from the
same
type of
"generous"
immigration
policies
that
Rubio
opposes.
"I can't
think of
a more
generous
immigration
policy
than the
one his
parents
benefitted
from,"
Gutierrez,
a
liberal
from
Chicago
of
Puerto
Rican
descent,
told
POLITICO
on
Wednesday.
"All
they had
to do
was show
up."
Gutierrez
comments
came
just a
day
after
Rubio
delivered
a lofty
maiden
speech
on the
Senate
floor in
which he
extolled
the
greatness
of
America,
a
country
that
gave a
new
start to
his
parents,
exiles
who fled
from
Cuba in
the
1950s.
"I come
from a
hard-working
and
humble
family.
One that
was
neither
wealthy
nor
connected,"
Rubio
said.
"Yet
I’ve
always
considered
myself
to be a
child of
privilege
because
growing
up I was
blessed
with two
very
important
things:
I was
raised
by a
strong
and
stable
family.
And I
was
blessed
to be
born
here in
the
United
States
of
America.
...
"It is
the
story of
a
bartender
and a
maid in
Florida.
Today
their
son
serves
here in
the
Senate,
and
stands
as a
proud
witness
of the
greatness
of this
land."
Gutierrez
has
heard
Rubio
give
variations
of that
speech
before,
and he
agrees
with the
message.
But he's
baffled
why the
young
senator
continues
to back
tough
immigration
policies
while
opposing
the
DREAM
Act,
which
would
provide
a path
to
legalization
for
young
illegal
immigrants
who go
to
college
or join
the
military.
"[Here's]
a man
whose
family
has
benefitted,
who's
here
because
of the
generosity
of our
immigration
system,
the
welcoming
of our
immigration
system,"
said
Gutierrez,
who’s
embarked
on a
nationwide
tour
promoting
the
DREAM
Act. "So
I just
think
that's a
darn
shame."
Rubio's
office
offered
a
defense
of his
immigration
policies.
"Senator
Rubio is
doing
what
seems to
be a
novel
idea to
some in
Washington:
he’s
firmly
upholding
the
campaign
promises
he made
to
Floridians,"
Rubio
spokesman
Alex
Burgos
said in
a
statement.
"Whether
it was
in town
halls or
even a
Univision
debate,
as a
candidate,
Senator
Rubio
repeatedly
and
consistently
stressed
border
security
and
E-Verify
would be
his
immediate
priorities
to
ensure
that
America
is not
the only
nation
on earth
that
doesn’t
enforce
its
immigration
laws.
"Whether
it’s
immigration,
the debt
or any
other
issue,
Senator
Rubio
will not
be
breaking
the
promises
he made
to
Floridians."
Rubio
has
dismissed
the
DREAM
Act as
“blanket
amnesty”
for
illegal
immigrants.
America's
Voice
blasted
a news
release
Wednesday
titled:
"Marco
Rubio
Sells
out
Hispanic
Community."
The
group is
fired up
over
Rubio's
support
for a
plan by
House
Judiciary
Chairman
Lamar
Smith
(R-Texas)
and Sen.
Chuck
Grassley
(R-Iowa)
that
would
require
employers
to use
an
electronic
system
to check
the
immigration
status
of their
workers.
“Marco
Rubio
has
become a
go-along
Washington
insider
overnight,"
said
Lynn
Tramonte,
deputy
director
of
America’s
Voice.
"By
championing
mandatory
E-Verify,
the big
government
program
with a
50
percent
fail
rate,
Rubio
has
thrown
Hispanics
under
the bus
in order
to cozy
up to
anti-immigrant
‘leaders’
in
Congress
like
Sen.
Grassley
and Rep.
Lamar
Smith.
...
"The
fact
that
Marco
Rubio
put his
name on
this
bill
shows
that he
just
doesn’t
get it.
He is
incapable
of being
a real
bridge
to the
Latino
community
for the
GOP."
