Quotes & Transcripts: Sen. Marco Rubio on when his parents left Cuba

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's biography on his Senate website on Oct. 21, 2011, said his parents "came to America following Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba." Read the reference, plus other public statements that his parents left after the revolution:

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"In 1971, Marco was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro's takeover."
Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate website, Biography, accessed Oct. 21, 2011 (screenshot)

"Highly regarded for his principled, energetic and idea-driven leadership, Marco Rubio was elected to the United States Senate in 2010 to represent the State of Florida.

"In 1971, Marco was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro's takeover. When he was eight years old, Rubio and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where his father worked as a bartender at the Sams Town Hotel and his mother as a housekeeper at the Imperial Palace Hotel. In 1985, the family returned to Miami where his father continued working as a bartender at the Mayfair House Hotel until 1997. Thereafter he worked as a school crossing guard until his retirement in 2005. His mother worked as a Kmart stock clerk until she retired in 1995."

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"In 1971, Marco was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro's takeover."
Internet Archive Wayback Machine, Marco Rubio for U.S. Senate, "Marco 101" accessed Oct. 21, 2011

"Highly regarded for his principled, energetic and idea-driven leadership, Marco Rubio is a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010.

"In 1971, Marco was born in Miami to Cuban-born parents who came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover. When he was eight years old, Rubio and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where his father worked as a bartender at the Sams Town Hotel and his mother as a housekeeper at the Imperial Palace Hotel. In 1985, the family returned to Miami where his father continued working as a bartender at the Mayfair House Hotel until 1997. Thereafter he worked as a school crossing guard until his retirement in 2005. His mother worked as a Kmart stock clerk until she retired in 1995."

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"My parents and grandparents came here from Cuba in '58, '59."
CQ Newsmaker Transcripts, "Florida Republican Senatorial Candidate Marco Rubio Interviewed on Fox News," Feb. 18, 2010 (YouTube video from MarcoRubio: 3:30)

SEAN HANNITY: "You have a pretty inspiring story to tell. It reminded me a little bit of my own grandparents. They came here in the early part of the last century. Your grandfather came here, what, in 1899?"

RUBIO: "No, my grandfather was born in 1899. My parents and grandparents came here from Cuba in '58, '59."

HANNITY: "OK. But you tell a story about sitting on the porch with your grandfather. I want you to explain it because I think it really -- it really describes where you're coming from politically as well by telling the story."

RUBIO: "You know, my grandfather used to sit on the porch all the time and talk to me. And tell me stories about baseball and politics and history as he puffed one of his three cigars that he smoked everyday. He lived to be 84, by the way.

"And as -- one thing he made clear to me. You know I don't remember all the details because it's been 20 some odd years since the last time I sat on that porch with him. He passed away in '84.

"But the one thing that he wanted to make clear to me was that because of where he was born, because his parents were poor, there was only so far he could go. And no matter how hard he worked, he was limited before he was even born by the circumstances of his birth.

"And he wanted me to know that for me it was different. That there wasn't any dream that I couldn't accomplish if I was willing to work hard. And the reason was simply. Because I happened to be privileged to be a citizen of the single greatest nation in all of human history."

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"I think that the direction we're going in Washington D.C. would make us more like the rest of the world and not like the exceptional nation that my parents found when they came here from Cuba in 1959, and the nation they worked in so hard so that I could inherit."
Analyst Wire, American Nightly Scoreboard for November 3, 2009, Nov. 4, 2009, via Nexis (YouTube video from MarcoRubio)

DAVID ASMAN, FOX BUSINESS HOST: "Well, what is the message of your campaign specifically?"

RUBIO: "The message is not very complicated. I believe limited government has made America the most prosperous people in the history of the world.

"And I think that the direction we're going in Washington D.C. would make us more like the rest of the world and not like the exceptional nation that my parents found when they came here from Cuba in 1959, and the nation they worked in so hard so that I could inherit.

"And that's the country I want my kids to inherit, and they're not going to if we go the direction that this administration wants to take us."

ASMAN: "You mentioned your family. Of course, they were exiles from of Fidel Castro's Cuba after he took over. They went to Miami and then they traveled around a bit and went to the southwest. You came back to Florida.

"To what extent do you think you can harness the energy and specifically the votes of Latin Americans who have the same vision?"

RUBIO: "Americans of Hispanic descent, want they want more than anything else is to leave their children with every opportunity they did not have.

"And I think our message of limited government provides that. I believe that limited government involvement in the economy is exactly the kind of remedy that is necessary so people when they work hard and play by the rules leave their children better off than themselves.

"I think that's the message that wins, among all Americans but especially among those of Hispanic descent."

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"My parents both (came here from Cuba) ... in 1959."

WTVT-TV Fox 13, YouTube video from MarcoRubio, uploaded July 24, 2009

KATHY FOUNTAIN: "Let me ask you about — your father came here from Cuba?"

RUBIO: "My parents both did, yes."

FOUNTAIN: "They came here from Cuba."

RUBIO: "In 1959."