Presidential candidate Marco Rubio, easily the most consistently successful debater this primary season, increased his anti-illegal immigration stance to include possible deportations before any attempts at immigration reform could be made. 

Speaking on Fox's America's Newsroom, Rubio stated that deportations have to happen to show the American people their government is committed to enforcing their own laws.  

"We are going to have to deport some people, otherwise if you’re not going to enforce the law, what’s the point of having those laws?" said Rubio. "Criminals are going to be deported. People who haven’t been here very long are going to be deported. People overstaying visas are going to have to be deported. That’s how you enforce immigration laws."

Though Rubio's comments on illegal immigration are notably a bit tougher than his previous support of immigration reform, the Florida senator did not go a full Donald Trump by saying all 11 million illegal immigrants should be deported. 

"The flipside of it is, I do not believe you can round up and deport 11 million people, especially people who have been here 15 years, have not otherwise violated the law, can pass background checks and so forth," he said. "There’s got to be a process to deal with that realistically."

Having participated in the bi-partisan "Gang of Eight" bill that sought to grant amnesty to 12 million illegal immigrants, Rubio's immigration stance has suffered much scrutiny from several conservatives. His latest comments may be an attempt to placate some of that criticism.