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Diaz-Balart Hopes For Immigration Reform Bill

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Senator Marco Rubio has staked his political future on meaningful immigration reform and now U.S. Representative Mario Diaz-Balart is saying he hopes the House will introduce a similar measure.

The Senate's so-called "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of eight senators, introduced immigration legislation earlier this week. The bill has drawn the scorn from some more conservative entities as being amnesty and should not be considered by many Republicans.

Diaz-Balart said the House bill must help the economy, protect rule of law and create a viable legal immigration system. He did not go into details about what should be done for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants but said having so many people without legal status in the U.S. does nothing to support the nation's economy.

Diaz-Balart spoke Friday at the Hispanic Leadership Network conference, an annual gathering of conservative Latino lawmakers.

Former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush opened the conference Thursday with praise for the bipartisan Senate immigration bill introduced Wednesday.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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