Every time I write an article on Marco Rubio, several people pop up in the comments section and mention how impressive he’s been during his first nine or so weeks in the role of secretary of State. I agree, but then again, I’ve been a Rubio fan for a long time, and I’ve really enjoyed watching him in this role. I also believe he’s an excellent spokesperson for the country and Donald Trump at the moment. I may or may not kick back with a cold drink and watch State Department press conferences on YouTube some evenings (don’t judge).
Which is exactly what I’m doing tonight. Rubio has been in the Caribbean over the last couple of days, visiting Jamaica on Wednesday and Guyana Thursday, and he has spoken so eloquently about our partnerships with these small but important countries and how Trump’s policies may impact them and what we can do for one another going forward.
At Thursday’s press conference in Guyana, a reporter asked Rubio about a particular case involving a student having a visa revoked, and he did not shy away from it. In fact, he got a little fired up and doubled down on the message that the Trump administration has been sending to people who come into this country with bad intentions. He even put it into simple language that maybe Democrats can understand.
Let me be abundantly clear. If you go apply for a visa right now, anywhere in the world — let me just send this message out — if you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you’re coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus — we’re not going to give you a visa. If you lie to us, and get a visa, and then enter the United States. and with that visa participate in that sort of activity, we’re going to take away your visa. And once you’ve lost your visa, you’re no longer legally in the United States.
And we have a right like every country in the world has a right to remove you from our country. So, it’s just that simple. I think it’s crazy. I think it’s stupid for any country in the world to welcome people into their country that are going to go to your universities as visitors — they’re visitors! — and say I’m going to your universities to start a riot. I’m going to your universities to take over a library and harass people. I don’t care what movement you’re involved with. Why would any country in the world allow people to come in and disrupt…we gave you a visa to come in and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses. And if we’ve given you a visa and then you decide to do that, we’re gonna take it away. I encourage every country to do that, by the way, because I think it’s crazy to invite students into your country that are coming onto your campus and destabilizing it. We’re just not gonna have it.
So, we’ll revoke your visa, and once your visa’s revoked, you’re illegally in the country and you have to leave. Every country in the world has a right to decide who comes in as a visitor and who doesn’t. If you invite me into your home because you say, ‘I wanna come to your house for dinner,’ and I go to your house and I start putting mud on your couch and spray-painting your kitchen, I bet you you’re gonna kick me out. Well, we’re gonna do the same thing if you come into the United States as a visitor and create a ruckus for us. We don’t want it. We don’t want it in our country. Go back and do it in your country, but you’re not gonna do it in our country. […]
— Read More: pjmedia.com
