Jon Favreau, former White House speechwriter for President President Obama, tweeted Tuesday that the White House appreciated Rubio’s stance on illegal immigration.
During the fifth Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas Nevada, Favreau tweeted this:
At the CNN debate Tuesday, moderator Dana Bash brought up the 2013 immigration bill Rubio co-authored in with Democrats. Bash asked whether Rubio still supports a “path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants and eventually giving them the right to vote in America.
“I am personally open,” Rubio said. “After all that has happened and after ten years in that probationary status where all they have is a [work] permit, I personally am open to allowing people to apply for a Green Card.”
A Green Card provides legal residency in the United States, with permission to work and the subsequent opportunity to become a citizen.
Rubio said that illegal immigrants would, “have to undergo a background check, pay a fine, start paying taxes” before they can become citizens. He added that they’ll be, “given a work permit and that’s all they’re gonna be allowed to have for at least 10 years.”