Rand Paul calls Marco Rubio the 'weakest' candidate on immigration, says he has more of an allegiance 'to liberals'

Sen. Rand Paul.
(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) came out swinging during Tuesday's CNN Republican debate, saying that when it comes to immigration, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is not only the "weakest of all the candidates," but also has "more of an allegiance to Chuck Schumer and to the liberals than he does to conservative policy." The Schumer dig was a direct reference to Rubio's role on the bipartisan "Gang of Eight," which tried and failed to pass immigration reform in 2013.

"The one thing that might have stopped San Bernardino, that might have stopped 9/11, would have been stricter controls on those who came here, and Marco has opposed at every point increased security, border security, for those who come to our country," Paul said. The senator from Kentucky said that last week, he introduced a bill "saying we need more security, more scrutiny, and once again Marco opposed this."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.