Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the leading voice in the Republican party on immigration policy, stressed the need for a long-term solution to our country's immigration issue and criticized President Obama's recent decision to stop deporting young people who entered the country illegally as children.
Rubio panned the move as a "short term fix for a long term problem," and added that it "injects election year politics into an issue that will never be solved as long as it's a political one." He also argued that the current version of the DREAM Act which is supported by President Obama would "encourage illegal immigration in the future."
He continued to say that he will still pursue his vision for comprehensive immigration reform as a "responsive policy maker."
The issue of immigration is key in the 2012 race as Mitt Romney tries to make up ground with Hispanic voters, and some say that adding Rubio to the ticket might be able to bolster his support from Latinos. In May of last year, Rubio told David that "under no circumstances," would he be on the ticket in 2012.
This time around, however, Rubio joked "I thought you had told me you'd burned the tapes?" He then refused to comment more on the process, only saying that he's sure Mitt Romney will choose a credible number two.
Our roundtable also broke down the Fast & Furious controversy with chairman of the House Oversight Committee Darrell Issa (R-CA). Issa said that he and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) "promised to get the truth," but they "got a lie."
You can watch the entire program on our website including more from our political roundtable and their view on what Mitt Romney will be looking for in a Vice Presidential candidate. We were joined by Former Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM); POLITICO’s Senior Political Reporter Jonathan Martin; and NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell.
We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.