GOP Senator Says Immigrants Who Want U.S. Citizenship Can Just Marry Americans

Earlier today retiring Republican Sens. Jon “Lying Liar Who Loves to Lie” Kyl (AZ) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) debuted what’s been dubbed the ACHIEVE Act, a Republican DREAM Act alternative that’s a straight-up mess. Telling you most of what you need to know, Florida’s Republican Sen. Marco “Fish Tacos” Rubio’s office says is based on “a working draft of what Sen. Rubio began working on over the summer.” Check and check.

Here’s what Kyl had to say about it:

Realistically, young people frequently get married. In this country, the biggest marriage pool are U.S. citizens. A U.S. citizen can petition for a spouse to become a citizen in a very short time…so I don’t think it’s any big secret that a lot of people who might participate in this program are going to have a very quick path to citizenship, if that’s the path they choose.

First of all, this man is a disgrace to Rodney Dangerfield’s good face. Sorry, as a (someone who wishes she was a) distant relative of the man, it must be said. Second, if Kyl actually encouraging marriages for citizenship someone should let him know that’s a Federal felony. So much for the sanctity of marriage, hypocrites. And even if marriage is a good option for someone, it isn’t a totally safe bet, anyway — there are plenty of couples where one of the partners is found guilty of something like an expired visa and are given penalties that range from years to a lifetime. There are just so many issues here, and I have a feeling I’m not even scratching the surface.

GOP Senator: If Immigrants Want A Path To Citizenship, They Can Just Marry Americans [Think Progress]