Jeb Bush tries to sway conservatives to support immigration reform
When President Obama spoke at an immigration town hall earlier this week, he urged former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to talk with other Republicans about…
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush shakes hands with attendees after speaking at the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on February 27, 2015 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
When President Obama spoke at an immigration town hall earlier this week, he urged former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to talk with other Republicans about the need to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Bush, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016, heeded that advice. While addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday, he tried to convince conservatives to support immigration reform that includes a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants.
The simple fact is there is no plan to deport 11 million people, Bush said while participating in a question-and-answer session with Sean Hannity of Fox News. We should give them a path to legal status where they work, where they dont receive government benefits, where they dont break the law, where they learn English and where they make a contribution to our society. Thats what we need to be focused on.
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He went on to stress that securing the border is also important. Lets control the border, he said. Theres nothing wrong with that. Thats what a great nation has to do.
And he also talked about the surge in unaccompanied minors who crossed the border last year, many of them trying to escape poverty and violence in Central America. When asked if they should be sent home, Bush replied: I thought they shouldve been sent home at the border.
The humanitarian thing to do wouldve been to consistently say from the beginning dont risk your lives crossing as young people, he said. Send a clear signal that this was a dangerous thing to do and the wrong thing to doand it wouldve stopped the flow.
Bush made those comments in front of a crowd of conservatives, many of whom question whether he is conservative enough to be the Republican nominee for president in 2016. He spent about 20 minutes taking questions from Hannity.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (right) speaks on stage with conservative political commentator Sean Hannity of Fox News at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbor, Maryland, on February 27, 2015. (Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images)
Earlier in the day, CPAC attendees booed when his name was mentioned. Then, when Bush took the stage, he was interrupted by some in the audience who were shouting and booing. Several people even walked out in protest.
In the past, Bush has angered conservatives for saying that many undocumented immigrants who come to the United States do so as an act of love for their families. He has also been critiqued for supporting drivers licenses and in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants while he was governor of Florida. When asked by Hannity if he still supports that, Bush said: I do.
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The former Florida governor received a better response from the crowd when he blasted Obamas recent executive actions that seek to protect millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Bush said Obama has gone way beyond his constitutional powers in issuing his executive actions. And he added that Congress has every right to challenge the president. However, he also said that it makes no sense to let DHSs funding run out and not provide money to control the border.
Bush was referring to the battle going in Congress over the Republican-backed legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security but reverse the immigration executive actions that Obama announced in November.
On Friday, the Senate approved a clean bill to fund DHS through the end of September. The bill, which doesnt include language to block Obamas executive actions, now heads to the House where its fate is uncertain.
Earlier in the day, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), another possible GOP presidential candidate, also took the stage to participate in a question-and-answer session with Hannity. But unlike Bush, the Cuban American senator received a warm welcome from the audience.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) addresses the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) February 27, 2015 in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Rubio also spent time talking about immigration. He told the audience that he learned from his previous experience of co-sponsoring the Senate immigration reform bill that wouldve put undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship. The bill passed in the Senate with bipartisan support in June 2013, but it stalled in the House.
What Ive learned is you cant even have a conversation about [what to do with undocumented immigrants living here] until people believe and know, not just believe, but its proven to them that future illegal immigration will be controlled, he said. That is the single biggest lesson in the last two years.
SEE ALSO: Chris Christie stays mostly silent on immigration at CPAC
And like Bush, Rubio also criticized Obama for issuing his executive actions on immigration.
Twenty-two times the president said he did not have the authority to do what he did, the Florida senator said. As far as I can tell, in the last four years, the Constitution has not been amended. So I dont know where he suddenly found the constitutional power to do this. This is not a policy debate, this is a constitutional debate.
Among the other potential Republican presidential candidates who are attending CPAC is New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who mostly stayed away from immigration when he spoke on Thursday. So far, the CPAC favorites appear to be Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
