Democrat hypocritical in criticism of Trump's immigration reform efforts: Karl Rove

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Karl Rove: If you get rid of the visa lottery then you can keep family unifications stable

Former White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove weighs in on President Trump's new immigration proposal.

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was hypocritical for criticizing the president over his delay in addressing immigration reform with Congress, Fox News political contributor Karl Rove suggested on Thursday.

"If this issue was so important to solve, why was it in 2009 and [20]10 when you, as a leader in the Democratic Senate Majority, didn't you move a bill at all," Rove said during an appearance on "The Daily Briefing" Thursday, responding to Durbin's complaint that Democrats tried working with Trump for two years on immigration.

"Please don't lecture us about [how Trump] hasn't done anything in two years," Rove added.

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Rove, who served under former President George W. Bush, saw similarities between the immigration reform battle in the early 2000s and the one under President Trump.

"Well, I heard Nancy Pelosi attack merit and I had a moment of Deja Vu all over again because I heard the same thing in 2007 when John McCain, Ted Kennedy, and President Bush agreed upon an immigration reform package that sounds a lot like, in this instance ... of what President Trump is likely to lay out," he told Fox News host Dana Perino, who also served in Bush's administration.

He indicated that Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who also criticized Trump's plan, would have opposed the immigration reform plan supported by Kennedy.

"Senator Blumenthal, let me say to you, would you have had the guts to tell Ted Kennedy that he was doing something despicable when he sat down and worked out a reform with regard to immigration that looks substantially like what the president is proposing?" he asked.

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Blumenthal, earlier, said Trump's proposal was "dead on arrival." “It is despicable demagoguery to appeal to Donald Trump's base and prepare for the 2020 election. It is a political document, not a realistic reform proposal," he said.

Trump, on Thursday, proposed an immigration plan that would focus on merit -- favoring high-skilled workers -- rather than family ties.