Back in 2013, Marco Rubio coauthored the comprehensive immigration reform package passed the U.S. Senate by a 68-32 vote. That same year, in an apparent effort to show his commitment to passing a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s undocumented communities, Rubio publicly revealed a voicemail left by his mom, begging him to do right by immigrants. “It’s a good effort, an important effort,” Rubio told Time. 

The Marco Rubio of today is virtually unrecognizable. In statement after statement, the Florida senator throws ice cold water on ongoing legislative efforts by Democrats to pass permanent relief for the undocumented immigrant communities he’s failed to protect. In one comment, Rubio calls protecting young undocumented immigrants, temporary status holders, and farmworkers “one of the worst things they could do right now.”

“Marco Rubio just said a citizenship bill granting a path to citizenship for immigrants is ‘one of the worst things’ we could do,” tweeted Florida advocate Thomas Kennedy. Marco in fact goes through a mishmash of word salad and unfounded excuses to try to explain why he won’t do his job. “@marcorubio is leaving DACA recipients, TPS holders, and essential workers at risk of deportation,” Kennedy continues. “Rubio is a bad person and needs to be voted out.”

Rubio further told CNN that the reconciliation pathway that Democrats are seeking is “a terrible way to do business.” Keep in mind that the reconciliation route now on the table is on the table only because Senate Republicans have refused to engage in good faith efforts with Democrats. There’s now no more time to waste following a federal judge’s ruling against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, following a Republican-led lawsuit. So maybe blame yourself there, buddy.

Rubio also writes in a National Review op-ed (I won’t link to that site, but you can read some of the text from Marco’s Senate page here) where he calls legalization for DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and farmworkers “backdoor amnesty” that Democrats are “trying to sneak” into the reconciliation budget package. I’m pretty sure no one’s sneaking anything? I mean, can it really be sneaking when both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have very publicly endorsed the reconciliation process? And when this process is a legitimate Senate procedure?

But wait, there’s even more from Marco. “Democrats are attempting to remake our nation wholesale,” he continues in that op-ed, coming dangerously close to echoing that white supremacist “replacement theory” bullshit. And what I just said there is one of those things that would cause Marco to launch into one of his trademark indignant speeches, of course ignoring his support for a former president who notoriously called that very white crowd of people chanting “you will not replace us” some “very fine people.” 

Kennedy and fellow immigrant rights advocates gathered outside what they said was a $5,000 a plate fundraiser for Rubio on Friday, “to call him out for refusing to support immigrants asking for a path to citizenship.” But Kennedy tweeted that “[b]ecause they aren’t wealthy donors, Rubio refused to speak with these folks.” In video Friday, Kennedy says that Rubio was quickly driven off to avoid speaking with immigrants who’ve long needed him to act.