According to the Dereka Hunter from the Daily Caller, Marco Rubio staffers are circulating a video suggesting that Ted Cruz supported Amnesty:
Here are the two Rubio staffer tweets Hunter cites:
https://t.co/stW1J11FM5 pic.twitter.com/2l1lEWA5Ee
— Todd Harris (@dtoddharris) November 12, 2015
.@tedcruz in 2013: "the 11 million who are here illegally would be granted legal status” https://t.co/yCZ3DrMT38
— Joe Pounder (@PounderFile) November 13, 2015
Well since then Rick Santorum has decided to hit Cruz as well, citing a different video and saying Cruz supported amnesty:
I've been fighting against #amnesty for a decade. Sadly, this is my friend @tedcruz supporting amnesty https://t.co/Dxh52hwUgE
— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) November 13, 2015
And of course Brit Hume has jumped in as well:
Wait…isn't that what Cruz backers now call "Amnesty?" https://t.co/TFrs4TOHcU
— Brit Hume (@brithume) November 13, 2015
Here's Cruz at greater length on his amendment legalizing 11 million illegals but with no path to citizenship. https://t.co/xVE3GzLwIp
— Brit Hume (@brithume) November 13, 2015
But Amanda Carpenter who worked for Ted Cruz in the Senate at the time says he was not supporting amnesty, but rather exposing the Gang of Eight’s bill as being all about a path to citizenship:
Can we talk about the Cruz/Rubio differences on immigration? I was there in the Senate when it all went down
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
I understand why the Rubio camp wants to say they have the same position but it's blatantly false. There's nothing slippery about Cruz
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
Ask yourself this: If Cruz had the same position on a path to citizenship why would he try to kill Rubio's Gang of 8 bill?!
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
Cruz took on an incredible amount of political risk working to stop amnesty. I was there. Everyone was against us
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
Cruz introduced amendments specifically designed to expose the fact all Gang of 8 cared about was path to citizenship.
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
During debate the Gang wanted everyone to think it was about fixing the system and border enforcement. No, it was about path to citizenship
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
So Cruz said ok, here are some amendments that do everything EXCEPT path to citizenship. And the Gang killed them exposing the big hoax
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
Cruz's work was essential in proving that the Gang bill was only about path to citizenship. He was successful!
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
And to say now that somehow his work killing the bill is somehow a sign of support for it is well…."slippery"
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
Lastly, if you question Cruz's dedication on stopping amnesty look at his work to defund Obama's executive amnesty
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
Cruz and Lee demanded a vote on it, throwing the Senate into a rare Sat session last December. Everyone in DC was FURIOUS
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) November 13, 2015
So Ted Cruz was playing chess with his dishonest colleagues and exposing their lies. He wasn’t supporting a path to legalization for illegals.
Hunter quotes Cruz from the 2 min video above pointing out what he said does back up Amanda’s claims and I totally concur:
“And I’d like to make a final point to those advocacy groups that are very engaged in this issue and rightly concerned about addressing our immigration system and, in particular, about addressing the situation for the 11 million who are currently in the shadows. If this amendment is adopted to the current bill, the effect would be that those 11 million under this current bill would still be eligible for RPI status. They would still be eligible for legal status and indeed, under the terms of the bill, they would be eligible for LPR status as well so that they are out of the shadows, which the proponents of this bill repeatedly point to as their principal objective to provide a legal status for those who are here illegally to be out of the shadows. This amendment would allow that happen, but what it would do is remove the pathway to citizenship so that there are real consequences that respect the rule of law and that treat legal immigrants with the fairness and respect they deserve.”