Rubio Tells Dems They ‘Can’t Shut Down the Government Over DACA’

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told congressional Democrats Tuesday on “Fox & Friends” that they “can’t shut down the government of the United States” over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) issue.

Rubio spoke on Fox News ahead of the bipartisan congressional meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss how to avert a government shutdown by the January 19 deadline for approving a new spending bill.

Democratic leaders insisted they won’t support any deal that includes border wall funding but omits a fix for DACA, the Obama-era program that protected illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation. Rubio blasted the Democrats, saying that shutting down the federal government over protecting illegal immigrants is unacceptable.

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“Here’s the bottom line, though: You can’t shut down the American government. You can’t shut down the government of the United States over DACA,” Rubio said. “And you can’t be against anything because of the building of a wall.”

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, reminded his Democratic Senate colleagues they “have a fundamental obligation” to protect the American citizens who voted them into office to prioritize their concerns above all others.

“Even if there was no DACA, even if there were no illegal immigrants in the United States — we still have a fundamental obligation to keep our country safe,” Rubio said. “And a physical barrier on significant portions of the southern border are a key part of that.”

The senator from Florida also ripped Democrats for rejecting border wall funding now when many of them supported similar border enforcement measures in the past, such as the Secure Fence Act of 2006 and the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. Rubio accused his Democratic colleagues of performing “political posturing” in a marked about-face.

Related: McCarthy Warns Pelosi Against Holding Government ‘Hostage’ Over DACA

“A lot of the things that they’re now against are things they voted for, including building a wall, bigger enforcement, moving to a merit-based system where we’re allowing people into the country based on what skills they have to contribute in the new economy, not just based on how many family members you have living here,” Rubio said. “These are all components of and ideas from a bill they voted for in 2013.”

The Florida Republican added that “but now for symbolic and political reasons, they’re against it. So the Democrats are the ones threatening to shut down the government because of the need to build a wall, and that’s absurd.”

PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.