“We need to register them as soon as possible, not just to keep the problem from getting worse, but we’re going to require them to pay a fine, and that’s the money that we are going to use to pay for the border security,” Rubio explained. “If we don’t get that fine money from the people that have violated our immigration laws, then the American taxpayer is going to have to pay for border security.”

Of all the expenditures the federal government undertakes, one of the most basic and legitimate is securing the border. It certainly seems like a more reasonable use of taxpayer dollars than, say, creating treadmills for shrimp or sending aid to the Muslim Brotherhood. So why it would be undesirable to have taxpayers pay for security is not clear. Nevertheless, Rubio seemed disinclined to spend public dollars for that purpose. If the fine money is not used, he said, “We’re going to end up borrowing money like we do now for 40 cents out of every dollar, and I want to prevent that from happening.”