Marco Rubio hammers Donald Trump on hiring illegal immigrants, paying $1 million fine

Donald Trump and Marco Rubio fight over immigration

(Image credit: Twitter/CNNPolitics)

Thursday night's CNN Republican debate was billed as a fight between Donald Trump and his would-be vanquishers, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and it lived up to its billing pretty quickly. Cruz and Trump started out fighting over who would do a better job deporting illegal immigrants and keeping them out, and then Rubio was drawn into the conversation. He mocked Trump's contention that he was the only reason Republicans were discussing immigration, then noted that his mother was a maid, and "instead of hiring Americans like her," he hired thousands of illegal immigrants. "You're the only person on stage who's been fined for hiring people to work on your projects illegally," he said.

Trump had a rejoinder: "No, no, I'm the only one on this stage who's hired people. You've never hired anybody."

Rubio told people to Google Trump and Polish workers, and Cruz backed him up, saying Trump was fined $1 million. Immigration is the top issue for Texas Republicans, according to recent polls.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.