All aboard? Paul Ryan supports Marco Rubio’s immigration reform outline

Former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan says he supports "the principles" of an immigration reform proposal from Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a sign that the party may be coalescing around its own plan to overhaul the nation's laws.

"Senator Rubio is exactly right on the need to fix our broken immigration system," the congressman wrote on his Facebook page on Monday, with a link to a Wall Street Journal article that includes Rubio's key immigration goals. "I support the principles he’s outlined: modernization of our immigration laws; stronger security to curb illegal immigration; and respect for the rule of law in addressing the complex challenge of the undocumented population. Our future depends on an immigration system that works."

Republicans and Democrats are both in the early stages of building coalitions for support for what could be a major immigration bill later this year.

Rubio and Ryan, considered among Republicans to be possible future presidential candidates, appeared together at a dinner in Washington, D.C., in December, where they both outlined their visions for the party's future.