Ted Cruz was on Fox and Friends this morning where he was challenged on his opposition to two immigration bills currently before the Senate that will be voted on later today.
While the Fox and Friends hosts – mainly Brian Kilmeade – suggested that Trump’s immigration pillars which includes a path to citizenship are what’s needed to get something done in the Senate, Cruz was adamant that if Republicans in Congress manage to pass amnesty for people who are here illegally, it will mean very bad things for Republicans in November.
Watch:
Ted Cruz argues that the plans before the Senate don’t make any sense because, for whatever reason, Republicans are eager to give citizenship to 1.8 million illegals. Cruz makes clear that this is to the left of even Obama’s radical executive amnesty because it only covered 690k people and didn’t actually provide citizenship. And now Republicans want to nearly triple that number to 1.8 million.
Kilmeade interjects that this is “a more accurate number”, but Cruz hits back: “Tell that to the steelworkers, tell that to the truck drivers, tell that to the American people who we promised we wouldn’t do amnesty.”
When Cruz says he doesn’t understand why Republicans would be galloping to the left of Obama, Kilmeade interrupts: “Because they want border security and the have to give to get something back and you only have 51 votes.”
Cruz then lays out the plain truth:
“Mark my words: If Republican majorities in Congress pass citizenship for millions of people — an amnesty — I think it is quite likely we will lose both houses of Congress and Speaker Nancy Pelosi will impeach President Trump.”
Kilmeade challenges Cruz again, asking him if he thinks it’s accurate 70% of the country want a path to citizenship? Cruz answers that those numbers are not accurate, that those polls are deceptive, and that the American people do not want Amnesty. What they want, he argues, is border security.
After arguing for Kate’s law, Cruz says “it is a profound mistake for Republicans to be granting Amnesty, a path to citizenship, for millions of people here illegally and it’s not being faithful to the promises we made to the voters.”
When Cruz is asked about the motivation for Democrats to pass something on immigration, Cruz asserts that Republicans actually may be saved from themselves because Democrats hate Trump so much they may say no to everything.
But then he drops another truth bomb when talking about the upcoming election this year and just how massive turnout will be on the left:
If you wanted to design in a laboratory legislation to keep millions of conservatives at home, it would be what’s being proposed right now. Let’s go to the left of Obama and give a couple million people citizenship who are here illegally. I think that’s a real mistake.
Kilmeade then interrupted, suggesting that this path to citizenship is in exchange for a wall that the American people want. But Cruz quickly pointed out that we’ve been duped before: “We saw this deal in the 80s. The wall won’t happen. Border security is like a promise of paying you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
Kilmeade interrupts again, arguing that if they put the money in a trust fund it will happen. But Cruz says that’s not what the legislation does, that it does it over 10 years. Cruz continues saying that the Democrats know how this game works, that they can promise border security and then it doesn’t happen, and that the American people are tired of this bait and switch.