Rubio defends Trump immigration reforms in India, says policy is global

Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against criticism of President Donald Trump’s immigration reform, as Indian officials and media outlets raised concerns that U.S. visa and immigration reforms could curb migration from India.

“What I want to make clear is that these changes, while they may have a disproportionate impact on a country like India that provides so many highly skilled workers to the U.S. economy, are not a system made for India,” Rubio said at a news conference Sunday in New Delhi, India. “It’s a solution that is being applied on a global scale.”

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pushed back on his comments.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced tough questions Sunday at a news conference in New Delhi, India, about the Trump administration’s pressure on India over trade, tariffs, visa and immigration reform. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AFP)

“I briefed Secretary Rubio on the challenges facing legitimate travelers in issuing visas,” Jaishankar said.

“Even as we cooperate to combat illegal and irregular mobility, we hope that legal mobility will not be affected. After all, this is very important for our cooperation in business, technology and research,” he said.

Ultimately, Rubio – a son of Cuban immigrants – stressed that the United States views India as a “strategic ally” and vital trading partner, but that immigration policy must be America first under Trump.

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“Everything you do as a country must be in your national interest, and that includes your immigration policy,” Rubio continued. “The United States, I believe, is the most welcoming country in the world when it comes to immigration.”

“Each year, about a million people become permanent residents of the United States and contribute greatly to it,” he said.

“Modernization” was the key word in Rubio’s response to concerns about Indians’ “contribution to the U.S. economy,” noting that “more than $20 billion has been invested in the U.S. economy by Indian companies.”

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio was pressed by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar about the “challenges facing legitimate travelers in issuing visas.” (Manan Vatsyayana/AFP)

“The changes that are happening now or the modernization of our migration system to the United States are not targeted – they are not specific to India; they are global,” Rubio emphasized. “This is applied all over the world.”

“We’re in a period of modernization, and I’m going to be frank and honest with you, because it’s important to talk about it: We’ve had a migration crisis in the United States,” he said. “It’s not because of India, but generally speaking, more than 20 million people have entered the United States illegally over the past few years, and we’ve had to address that challenge.”

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These reforms were “long overdue,” he added.

“It has to be a process that adapts in each era to the realities of the modern times that you live in, and we are, and it should have been done a long time ago,” Rubio added. “So the United States is currently engaged in a process of reforming the system by which we choose how many people enter our country, who enters, when they enter, et cetera.”

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Rubio urged India to give time to the reform process during the period of deepest adjustment.

“Any time you undertake reform, any time you undertake a change in the system of admitting people, or frankly, any time you undertake reform of a system – not just immigration – there will be – there will be a transition period that will create points of friction and difficulties and so on,” he said. “Ultimately, we believe that when this process is in place, once this process is modernized – and that’s really what this is about – we will modernize the American immigration system for the 21st century so that it is an immigration system that is not only good for America but also good for the people who are coming.”

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The United States and India will ultimately be stronger, according to Rubio.

“We are going to end up with a system that is more efficient and even better than the previous system, and in some ways it may prove even more beneficial than the previous system was for Indians seeking to enter the United States to work and innovate,” he concluded. “But obviously there will be a period of adjustment along the way.

“We are in a period of transition, and like any period of transition, there will be some bumps in the road. But we believe that ultimately our destination will be a better system, a more efficient system, one that works better than the one we had in place before, and more sustainable by the way,” Rubio said.

Rubio also addressed allegations of anti-Indian racism in America, urging India not to listen to “stupid people.”

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“I will take these comments very seriously,” Rubio said. “Look, I’m sure there are people who have made comments online and elsewhere, because every country in the world has stupid people. I’m sure there are stupid people here.”

“There are stupid people in the United States who make stupid comments all the time. I don’t know what to tell you other than that the United States is a very welcoming country,” Rubio said. “Our nation has been enriched by people who came to our country, came to our country from all over the world, became Americans, assimilated into our way of life and contributed greatly.”