Changing course on a controversial measure, Marco Rubio, who is the likely Republican candidate for Senate, says he now supports the new Arizona anti-immigration law. His latest statement is a reversal of an original position in which he criticized the law over what he called “potential unintended consequences” and stated that “immigration needs to be a federal issue, not a state one.”
Rubio, who is Cuban- American, now feels comfortable with the law because some of the language was amended in order to address wide spread concerns over racial profiling.
Critics argue that the amended language, in fact, broadens the law’s scope. While it more clearly defines when an officer can question a person’s immigration status, it still does not specify what should make an officer suspect someone might be an illegal immigrant.
The amendment also expands the ability of officials to question a person’s immigration status to include the enforcement of civil ordinances such as playing music too loud or not keeping the lawn trimmed.
Through a spokesperson Rubio said, “Having visited Arizona recently, it was clear to me that concerns about public safety prompted passage of this law. Since the original law was signed, I believe important changes have been made that address my original concerns and those of many.”
The Florida race for US Senate recently took a turn when current Republican Governor Charlie Crist, who was challenging Rubio for the party’s nomination, announced he was running as an independent. Crist leads both Rubio and Democrat U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek in the most recent Mason-Dixon poll.
Crist, the grandson of a Greek immigrant, has consistently opposed the law saying, “I’m very disappointed in what’s happening in Arizona and I don’t think it’s representative of what Americans want or embrace.”
Meek, who is a former state trooper, has cautioned that Arizona’s actions encourage police to question people who have done nothing wrong and will make it harder to get people who are witnesses to crimes to cooperate with law enforcement.
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