CBS "Face the Nation" - Transcript - Guns and Immigration

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHIEFFER: Good morning, again. The topics are guns and immigration. We're going to start this morning with immigration. We're joined by the senator many consider the key person on this issue, Marco Rubio, who is part of a bipartisan "gang of eight," who have worked out a compromise proposal they are hoping will result in a reform of immigration laws that will appeal to both sides. The senator is in Miami this morning. Senator, good morning. Let me just make sure...

RUBIO: Good morning.

SCHIEFFER: ... first, do you -- have you agreed with the "gang of eight"? Are you all together on this proposal? And when will you unveil it?

RUBIO: Well, first of all, it's important to understand, we're not agreeing to a press release. We're agreeing to a bill, a piece of legislation. We have agreed to the principles of a piece of legislation. They're still being drafted. So I would say, obviously, if the draft looks what we've agreed to, I look forward to us being able to talk in more detail later this week about that. I'm very optimistic about it.

SCHIEFFER: Senator, I think the most important part of this, the key thing is, what happens to the 11 million immigrants who are in this country illegally? What happens to them?

RUBIO: Right, yes. Well, first of all, I think it's important to point out this is not a theory. They are actually here. We are not talking about bringing millions of people here illegally. They are here now and they are going to be here for rest of their lives. The proposals in the past that some have advocated is to make their lives miserable so that they'll leave on their own or to basically ignore the problem which is happening now and is de facto amnesty. And what we're proposing is to actually deal with them in the following way. And that is, they will have to come forward and pass a rigorous background check. If they are criminals, they won't qualify. Although if they pass that background check, they will be given the opportunity to pay an application fee and a fine. And in return for that, they will get a worker permit that will allow them to stay in the U.S., work, travel, and pay taxes. They will not qualify for any federal benefits of any kind, including Obamacare. And they will have to be in that system for over 10 years before they can apply to the existing legal immigration system for a green card, not a special path, the same path as everybody else. And, of course, that will be dependent upon certain security measures being met. That means securing the border, universal E- verify, and the universal entry/exit tracking system. If those three things are not in place, that green card process won't begin, even if the 10 years has elapsed.

SCHIEFFER: You know, some Republicans are going to say this is really just amnesty under another name or under another label. Is it?

RUBIO: Well, I think that that misses the point that under existing law, if you're illegally here, you can get a green card. It says you have to go back to your country of birth, you wait 10 years, and then you apply for the green card. All we're saying is, if you decide you wanted to stay here, you'll have to wait for more than 10 years. You'll have to wait until E-verify, border security, and entry/exit happen. You won't qualify for any federal benefits. You'll have to pay taxes. You'll have to prove that you're not a public charge. And you'll -- as I said, you'll have to wait longer than 10 years to qualify for all of that. So I would argue that the existing law is actually more lenient, that going back and waiting 10 years is going to be cheaper and faster than going through this process that we are outlining.

SCHIEFFER: You are also calling for some very significant measures to tighten security along the border. And -- including spending more than $3 billion, as I understand it.

RUBIO: Well, I just think it's important when we talk about border security -- although, the immigration issue gets all the attention with regards to it. The border is really about our sovereignty as a country, about our ability to protect our borders and who has access to our nation. And the fact of the matter is that while I am not in favor of a housekeeper or a landscaper crossing the border illegally, what keeps us up at night is the worry that a terrorist could come across that border one day, or the activities that are being undertaken there now by criminal gangs that are human traffickers. And so this addresses that as well. There was a very compelling article over the weekend in The Wall Street Journal that pointed out some of the problems that exist at the border. And I think these are the kinds of issues that we're trying to get to here as well.

SCHIEFFER: Do you think you can get this bill passed this year on immigration?

RUBIO: The -- I do. I'm optimistic about it. I think this bill answers all the questions that people raise. That's why it has taken so long. That's why we've spent so much time on it. That's why we continue to spend time on it. This bill does three things that are fundamentally important for our country. It modernizes our legal immigration system, something we need to do no matter what. It puts in place the toughest enforcement measures in the history of the United States, potentially in the world. And it once and for all deals with the issue of those that are here illegally, but does so in a way that is fair and compassionate but does not encourage people to come illegally in the future and isn't unfair to the people that have done it the right way. And so that's why I am optimistic that we can get the votes to get this passed. But it will be a long process, hopefully a very open process. And I think it will take some time. But I believe we can get there.

SCHIEFFER: Let me now do shift this to guns. You met with the families -- some of the families of the Newtown tragedy. What do you think is going to happen? We're going to have Senator Manchin, Senator Toomey here with their new proposal on background checks. You actually voted to filibuster the debate on guns. Will you now continue to filibuster as these various bills come up, and why?

RUBIO: Well, we're on the bill now, and hopefully we can get into an open amendment process. For example, I hope we can pass an amendment to that bill that says that we're going to start prosecuting people who illegally are trying to buy guns and getting around the background check system. I hope we can have a debate about violence in America, about what's causing this. Everyone is focused on what people are using to commit the violence. I don't think there's nearly enough focus on the violence, which is the fundamental problem that we face. I also think it's important to protect the rights of Americans, of law-abiding Americans to possess firearms via the Second Amendment, which is a constitutional right. Now I didn't write the Constitution. That's in there. And any time you're going to do anything that touches upon that, you need to provide a very high standard. But my bigger hope is that this issue doesn't just become about guns, that we can broaden it to make it about violence and deal with things like mental health and prosecutions of those who are criminals but have been trying to buy guns.

SCHIEFFER: Well, did the meeting with these families, did that have any impact on your thinking? I mean, what do you say to them?

RUBIO: It sure did. Well, first of all, I was very impressed with these families, obviously very touched by them. And I can tell you I have never had a meeting like that in all my years of public service. And it's an indescribable experience. I congratulate them because they are taking a horrifying tragedy and are trying to turn it into a positive for the broad aspects of Americans. I don't think they would disagree with any of the things I'm saying in terms of the debate needs to be about guns. And what I expressed -- I'm sorry, the debate needs to be about violence. And what I expressed to them, and I think that they would agree with that, is that this issue cannot just be about guns. It has to be holistically about violence as it impacts the whole country. And I hope that we will take the opportunity here over the next few weeks as we debate this bill to look for ways to raise that issue. And I think they would be very supportive of that.

SCHIEFFER: Senator, it seems to me, back when you were in the Florida legislature, you were for background checks, you were for a waiting period before people could purchase a gun. Are you now against background checks? And if so, what has changed your mind?

RUBIO: No, we -- the Florida law requires background checks. And, by the way, the Florida law also provides for you to have a concealed weapons permit, which means as a concealed weapons permit- holder, which I am, you undergo a background check. And because of that there is no three-day waiting period for you when you go buy a gun. We should apply that nationally. You should be able to use -- if you have received a concealed weapons permit from any state in the country, other states should honor that when you go buy a permit, because that means you've undergone a rigorous background check. Maybe that can be part of this bill as well. My problem is this, in addition to the issue I've just raised, which is that this debate needs to be about violence, not just about guns, we have to ensure that the laws that people are putting out there do not infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens and that actually do keep guns out of the hands of criminals. And my skepticism about gun laws is that criminals don't follow the law. They don't care what the law is, that they don't -- you can pass any law you want, criminals ignore it, by definition they're criminals.

SCHIEFFER: You know, Senator -- are you still there, Senator?

RUBIO: Yes.

SCHIEFFER: You know, criminals don't follow the laws on burglary and on murder and on auto theft. But those laws still, I think...

RUBIO: And we prosecute those.

SCHIEFFER: I think most people would say those laws are fairly effective. But let me just ask you this question. You say you have a concealed weapons permit, do you carry a weapon?

RUBIO: I do not, but I have a concealed weapon permit that basically says that -- and I don't quite frankly because I spend most of my time in airports and in the Capitol where you're not allowed to necessarily carry those around. But let me say this to you, all Americans have a right to that -- all Americans have a Second-Amendment right to buy a firearm, to possess one for both self-defense and for sport. And we should be very careful about anything that infringes on that. Now, if someone has an effective way to protect that right and to prevent criminals from getting access to weapons, certainly I think everyone is open to that.

SCHIEFFER: Let me ask you quickly before you go about North Korea, what-- what should we be doing there? Are we following the right policies?

RUBIO: I believe the administration has acted responsibly right now on that. I think they've done three things that are important. Number one, is they've made very can clear that there is not going to be any food or any conceptions in exchange for downsizing these provocations. Number two, they've repositioned assets, and those repositioned assets do two things-- they protect the United States and our territory, but they also let our allies understand clearly that we are going to live up to our security commitments. I'm also encouraged that Secretary Kerry went to China yesterday and met with the president of China. And hopefully we can get the Chinese to care more with this issue. And we're hoping the Chinese will recalibrate their relationship to North Korea and realize that what's there now on that peninsula is unsustainable. The ultimate solution to the Korean problem is to denuclearize the peninsula and to unify it. And that's ultimately the solution to that problem. And that's the goal we should be working towards, because what North Korea has is not a government, what North Korea is being run by is a criminal syndicate.

SCHIEFFER: All right. Senator, thank you so much for joining this morning.

RUBIO: Thank you.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source