Story highlights Marco Rubio suggested Thursday that he would end parts of Obama's deferred action program for undocumented immigrants on his first day in office

"I said that DACA has to go away and it will," Rubio told Tapper. "I will get rid of it on my first day in office."

Washington (CNN) Marco Rubio suggested Thursday that he would end parts of President Barack Obama's deferred action program for undocumented immigrants on his first day in office, an apparent break from previous statements and inviting attacks from more hardline rivals.

Rubio has long maintained that he would eventually end the White House program that shields some undocumented immigrants who entered before their 16th birthday from deportation, but he has been less clear about when that would happen.

Rubio told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead" on Thursday that he would revoke the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order immediately, a departure from past comments that suggests it would not take effect until deeper into his presidency.

"I said that DACA has to go away and that it will," Rubio told Tapper. "I will on my first day in office get rid of it because it's unconstitutional."

That stands in contrast to a prominent interview with Fusion that has been seen as Rubio's stance on the issue for the duration of the campaign.

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