Republican Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart Says President Barack Obama Cares About Immigration Reform Temporarily, 'Broke His Word' [Video]
Despite President Barack Obama's promise to enact immigration reform before the end of 2014, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said change isn't likely to happen until the beginning of 2015.
"I'm hoping we can do it early next Congress," the Florida Republican told Fox News Latino.
If immigration reform does not pass by early 2015 however, Diaz-Balart says solving the problem will become even more evasive, especially considering that political discussion will shift toward the 2016 presidential election next year.
Diaz-Balart also believes that today's immigration system is completely "broken."
"It's not working for our national security interests," he said. "We don't know who comes in and who leaves. ... And that's not acceptable."
The representative said the system hurts the United States economy.
Still, Diaz-Balart does not think amnesty is the best option to solving the immigration problem, nor is he sure that Obama will actually take executive action on the matter.
"The president has drawn a red line once again, but he himself has violated his own red line," he said. "The president first said he was going to do immigration reform his first year. He broke his word."
According to the representative, Obama's dedication to immigration reform is only temporary.
"Now he's saying after the elections," the congressman said. "He's had ample opportunity to get it done. The reality is President Obama only thinks of immigration reform in election season."
This summer, those in charge of the GOP rejected Diaz-Balart's immigration bill. The bill reportedly had the opportunity to win support from both Republicans and Democrats as it called for tougher enforcement while still including a way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the country.
According to representative, he wanted "to come up with a version that finally secures the borders, that does so even if you have a president that frankly not a lot of people trust in enforcing the law."
Another goal set by Diaz-Balart, as well as Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat Illinois representative, was to make sure the bill highlighted "accountability."
"So you can force this or future administrations to enforce border and interior security aspects," Diaz-Balart said. "This legislation does that."
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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.
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