Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Did Cruz lie about not supporting legalization?

At National Review Jim Geraghty questions whether Ted Cruz was being truthful last night on the issue of giving illegal immigrants a path to legal citizenship:
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz’s response to Rubio’s questions, “I have never supported legalization and I do not intend to support legalization,” sounded like it left a little wiggle room. After further review, it’s just not accurate.

Here’s Ted Cruz, back in May 2013, on the Senate Judiciary Committee, urging the committee to support an amendment that includes “a legal status for those who are here illegally.”

I would urge everyone on this committee to roll up our sleeves and fix the problem in a humane way, that secures the border, gets serious about fixing that problem, that expands legal immigration and that does not unfairly treat legal immigrants by removing a path to citizenship, but allowing, as this legislation does, a legal status for those who are here illegally, that would be reform that a great many people across this country both Republican and Democrat would embrace and I would urge the committee to consider the amendment.

The Cruz team later came back and said the amendment was aimed to demonstrate that Democrats were only interested in a path to citizenship, but Cruz’s comments from that time certainly don’t sound like they were aimed at symbolism:

“In introducing amendments, what I endeavored to do was improve that bill so that it actually fixes the problem,” Cruz told me. “I think an overwhelming majority of Americans in both parties wants to see our broken immigration system fixed, wants to see the problem solved, the border secured, and our remaining a nation that welcomes and celebrates legal immigrants. Given that bipartisan agreement outside of Washington, my objective was not to kill immigration reform but to amend the Gang of Eight bill so that it actually solves the problem rather than making the problem worse.”

By claiming he never supported legalization, Cruz just either lied, or offered an enormously misleading statement. If he did that about his past position on a path to legalization . . . would he do the same about his future stance?
Read more here.

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