Immigration

compromise in order to keep the issue (alive).”

Scott is up for re-election this year. The leading Democrat in the race, former Miami area Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, slammed Scott for his opposition to the bill on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

“Obviously, he’s playing games and he’s not serious about finding solutions for our border. I support the bill. It’s not perfect,” she said during a speaking engagement in Palm Beach County. “There’s a lot more that I would like to include, including providing a legal pathway for our Dreamers who have been living here their entire lives. They deserve a legal pathway that should be included in the bill.”

Rubio, who won a third term in 2022, has been burned by the immigration issue in the past.

Rubio won election to the U.S. Senate in 2010 during a campaign in which he took a tough stance on immigration policy. In 2013, however, Rubio was among a group of Senate insiders tailoring a compromise immigration reform package.

“When our economy needs foreign workers to fill labor shortages, our modernized system will ensure that future flow of workers is manageable, traceable, fair to American workers and in line with our economy’s needs,” Rubio said at the time.

That sparked an avalanche of criticism from the growing immigration hardliners in the GOP. The turnabout proved costly to Rubio when he sought the 2016 presidential nomination against Trump, who by then had made building a wall on the southern border an oft-repeated campaign talking point.

Palm Beach Post reporter Stephany Matat contributed to this story.