On Tuesday’s broadcast of Laura Ingraham’s radio show, conservative columnist Pat Buchanan gave Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio some advice on how to handle his “Gang of Eight” colleagues.

The “Suicide of a Superpower” author said Rubio should point out that the federal government has failed to protect the border “against an invasion” of “illegal people.”

“You know what Marco Rubio should say to them?” Buchanan said. “‘Look, we don’t believe in amnesty. We believe it’s rewarding illegal law breaking. It’s rewarding people who broke into our country and broke in line and who are here illegally. As for securing the border, that is not an option for you folks. That’s is an obligation, that is a duty of the president of the United States — to defend America’s borders against an invasion. And if you yourselves say there are 12 million illegal people here, that’s an invasion.'”

“And you tell the president we’re not giving him any amnesty but he has an obligation to defend the southern border of the United States,” he continued. “Why don’t they just do that? What is all this nonsense about bringing people out of the shadows? If they’re law-breakers, do they not belong in the shadows?”

Buchanan added that the immigration fight will divide the Republican Party, and may hurt it’s otherwise-good chances in 2014.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I think there’s some gutsy Republicans in that House. The American people haven’t spoken to this and I think it’ll be a war inside the Republican Party and we’ll see if folks like McCarthy and Cantor and Boehner go along with a split in their party. I think it’ll be very damaging because I think right now, the Republican Party is very well positioned for 2014.”

Follow Jeff on Twitter