Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said that while he opposes President Obama’s use of executive actions to let some undocumented immigrants remain in the country legally, he would reverse the President’s actions by incorporating them into comprehensive reform.
During a discussion on immigration reform with Fox News’ Megyn Kelly that aired on Monday night, Bush said he understood “why people are upset when Barack Obama, with the stroke of a pen, through executive actions, takes unconstitutional actions.”
When asked by Kelly if he would reverse the actions, Bush said he “absolutely” would. Kelly then asked how he would go about reversing the actions.
Bush said he would do so by “passing meaningful reform of immigration and make it part of it.”
Earlier in the interview, Bush said that he supports a “path to legalized status” for undocumented immigrants, but “not necessarily citizenship.”
“If you’ve been here for an extended period of time, you have no nexus to the country of your parents. What what are we supposed to do? Marginalize these people forever?” Bush asked.
“There’s got to be a point where we fix this system so legal immigration is easier than illegal immigration and show some respect for people,” he continued.
Kelly noted that many conservatives oppose a path to legalized status and asked how Bush could win the primary with his views on immigration.
“I get a sense that a lot of people can be persuaded,” Bush responded. “Do you want people to just bend with the wind, to mirror people’s sentiment whoever is in front of you? ‘Oh, yes, I used to be for that but now, I’m for this.’ Is that the way we want to elect presidents?”
Watch part of the interview via Fox News. The discussion on immigration begins at the 5:35 mark.