Marco Rubio Says 'Our Goal Is Not to Punish' Cubans With U.S. Policy

Marco Rubio Says 'Our Goal Is Not to Punish' Cubans With U.S. Policy
by SALLY BRONSTON

Sen. Marco Rubio called the death of Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro a
"historical milestone" and recommended President-elect Donald Trump not
retroactively remove protections for undocumented immigrants established
by the Obama administration in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press"
on Sunday.

Rubio, R-Fla., also weighed in on Trump's transition to the White House
and declined to publicly support Trump's nominee for Attorney General.

Additionally, he commented on the need for a congressional look into the
WikiLeaks hacks.

CUBA
A Cuban-American himself, Rubio reacted to the death of Fidel Castro
over the weekend, saying it was a "historical milestone" and a
"psychological" milestone "for a lot of people."

Rubio, who has been critical of Pres. Obama's actions on Cuba, said he
wants to "look at all the changes that were made," while adding that
"our goal is not to punish" Cubans.

"I have never said that I'm against all changes to Cuba policy," he
added. "I'm just against unilateral changes from which we get nothing in
return for our country or for the freedom or liberty of the Cuban people."

DACA
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to roll back many of President
Obama's executive orders, drawing concerns from undocumented immigrants
who have been protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) program.

Rubio said he would recommend that Trump not "retroactively remove their
status" but he also said people should not be allowed to apply for renewal.

"People already have it, so someone has that DACA permit but it is not
indefinite, it expires," he said. "And what I would say is if you have
it, then you have it for the remainder of that period of time but you
will not be able to renew it."

That time is needed, Rubio said, for "border security, modernization"
and to then move to a more "reasonable" system "for people like those
who came here as children, or those who have been here for a long time
who are not criminals, to allow them to attain some legal status through
a legal way — not an unconstitutional way, which is what DACA is."

TRANSITION APPOINTMENTS
On appointments to President-elect Trump's incoming administration,
Rubio has offered public praise of Rep. Mike Pompeo as CIA director and
Gov. Nikki Haley as UN Ambassador, but not for fellow Senator Jeff
Sessions for Attorney General.

Rubio explained Pompeo's and Haley's nominations will both come through
committees he sits on, before they reach the full Senate, while
Sessions' nomination will not.

Rubio was not ready to say publicly if he'll support Sessions'
confirmation: "No, I never do, until that person works their way through
the process."

WIKILEAKS
During the campaign, Rubio was outspoken on the issue of the WikiLeaks
hacks, warning fellow Republicans, saying, "Today it is the Democrats.
Tomorrow it could be us."

On Sunday, Rubio said the hacks were "absolutely" worthy of
Congressional scrutiny.

Asked if the Foreign Relations subcommittee he chairs would investigate,
Rubio said, "We'd need the permission of the full committee, and I
imagine that Senator Corker may have an opinion on that. He may himself
want to do that. You'll have to ask him."

Rubio continued, "If a foreign government has been involved in injecting
chaos into our democratic process, the American people deserve to know
that."

While declining to blame the Russian government directly, Rubio said
what happened during the U.S. election was "very similar to the sort of
active measures that you've seen the Russians use in the past in places
like Eastern Europe, to interfere with the elections of other
countries…they try to undermine the credibility of the election. They
try to undermine individual leaders."

Source: Marco Rubio Says 'Our Goal Is Not to Punish' Cubans With U.S.
Policy - NBC News -
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/fidel-castros-death/marco-rubio-says-our-goal-not-punish-cubans-u-s-n688806