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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who has been widely discussed as a potential vice presidential pick for Mitt Romney, laid into both Democrats and Republicans for politicizing the immigration debate in a way that he said is standing in the way of reform.
Addressing hundreds of Hispanic activists at a meeting of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Rubio said he had planned to speak about the economy and jobs, but he changed his mind to focus on immigration because "both my head and my heart tell me today, perhaps we are as close as we've ever been to a critical turning point in the debate about immigration."
The senator, whose family immigrated to the United States from Cuba, said, "It is a powerful political issue. I have seen people use it to raise money. I have seen people take the legitimate concerns about illegal immigration and turn it into panic, and turn that panic into fear, and anger, and turn that anger into votes and money. I've also seen people go in the other direction. Anyone who disagrees with their ideas on illegal immigration is anti-immigrant and anti-Hispanic. That's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. Everything is about politics. I've seen it firsthand."