Ted Cruz: 'Obama's Lawlessness' Responsible for Spike in Illegal Immigration

by Kristin Tate 6 Jun 2014, 4:57 PM PDT
breitbart

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A sharp spike in illegal immigration has caused facilities and resources along the U.S.-Mexico border to become overwhelmed. As a result, U.S. Border Patrol has been releasing thousands of illegal immigrants onto U.S. soil each week. Some released immigrants are even criminals--as Breitbart Texas previously reported, more than 36,000 convicted criminal illegal aliens were released by U.S. authorities in 2013 alone.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz told Breitbart Texas that this "humanitarian crisis" is a "direct consequence" of the Obama Administration's actions and rhetoric surrounding illegal immigration.

"We need a president who is willing to uphold the law," Cruz said. "On issue after issue the Obama Administration has openly ignored, defied, and unilaterally tried to change the law. With respect to securing the border, the Obama Administration has handcuffed the courageous men and women who serve in Border Patrol. Morale in ICE is at an all-time low because the political operatives leading this Administration are preventing them from doing their job and upholding the law."

He continued, "Just a few months before the last election the president illegally and unconstitutionally granted amnesty to some 800,000 people illegally. If the president wants to change federal immigration laws, the Constitution lays out a way to do so--you go and make your case to Congress and you convince Congress to change the laws...unfortunately for President Obama, following the cont structure is apparently too cumbersome. One of the consequences were seeing on the border is a humanitarian crisis that is a direct consequence of Obama's lawlessness."

Cruz argued that by granting amnesty to such large numbers of illegal immigrants, Obama prompted a "change in behavior." In Cruz's view, the recent spike in illegal immigration can be attributed to such actions by the Administration.

Earlier this week, Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby released leaked photos of children in U.S. processing cells who entered the U.S. illegally and unaccompanied. The photos encapsulated the humanitarian crisis in relation to young, often unaccompanied, border crossers.

Cruz said of the skyrocketing number of children crossers, "When i was down at the border, Border Patrol agents were telling me with horror that roughly 10 percent of apprehended people were unaccompanied minors."

He continued, "The people who are bringing men, women, and children in illegally are not pleasant, happy, placid coyotes. These are criminal cartels. These are ruthless, brutal, nasty criminals. The idea that you have parents handing their teenage daughter or son over to a global criminal cartel is a humanitarian crisis. Untold numbers of these teens are facing assault, are facing a life of hell being turned over to drug kingpins."

"It is a direct consequence of the presidents illegal actions," he said. "The parents think, 'If I send my child [to the U.S.], my child will have amnesty.' That's what the president of the U.S. has said. It is the exact opposite of a humane approach to immigration or to securing our borders."

Ultimately, Cruz said there are many areas where the left and right can find common ground.

"There is overwhelming bipartisan support outside of Washington that we need to finally secure our borders, enforce our laws, and stop the problem of illegal immigration," he concluded. "But that's not going to happen as long as the president is ordering Border Patrol officers not to enforce the law."

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