Rubio is promoted as the new face of the Republican Party due to his Hispanic heritage and strong communications skills.

Obama won overwhelming support from the Latino vote in defeating GOP challenger Mitt Romney in the November election.

Rubio is leading an effort by some Republicans to shift party policy on immigration reform by accepting the concept backed by Obama and Democrats that the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants should have a path to legal status.

However, he neglected to mention specifics of an immigration reform plan in his response Tuesday night.