Rubio to protesters: ‘We’re going to enforce our immigration laws’

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Saturday shut down a protest over his immigration policies at a GOP candidate panel intended to focus on poverty issues.

“We’re going to enforce our immigration laws, guys,” the Republican presidential candidate said after he was repeatedly interrupted at the Jack Kemp Foundation forum on poverty in Columbia, S.C.

{mosads}The remarks appear to back the recent deportations by the Obama administration targeting Central American immigrants.

The protesters represented United We Dream and Young Immigrants in Action for South Carolina, according to NBC.

About 12 people were ultimately escorted out of the room after interrupting the panel at least six times. The panel was moderated by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and also included presidential candidate John Kasich, the governor of Ohio.

The protesters later told reporters they were primarily targeting Rubio’s opposition to a policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which allows people who illegally entered the country as children to be exempt from deportation.

Rubio had said he was “going to keep talking through this,” but as the shouts of “undocumented and unafraid” grow louder, he ultimately responded. The crowd roared with applause and the panel continued.

“When you went to college in the seventies, you appreciate a protest,” Kasich quipped.