Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) rejected a reporter’s implication that Republicans are responsible for the current escalation of the border crisis. The significant increase in migrants attempting to enter the country is a result of the end of the Title 42 immigration policy by the Biden administration.
Cruz made the comment during a tour of the southern border this week. The Texas Republican was asked about what Republicans had done regarding the current immigration situation.
The senator called this a “ridiculous and silly question.”
Cruz then asked about the rate of immigration under former President Donald Trump.
“Do you know anything?” Cruz asked. “I asked you a question.”
Oof… Ted Cruz shreds this reporter over Title 42 and the border crisis. pic.twitter.com/Sr1O4P4gQh
— Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) May 12, 2023
He then said that the “talking point” of Democrats is that the border “problem can’t be fixed.”
He cited the 2020 rate of immigration, which he said was the lowest in 45 years.
Cruz also said that he had “championed the men and women of Border Patrol, I’ve championed securing the border.”
The senator said that President Joe Biden had “made political decisions to cause this problem” when he took office.
Cruz also criticized Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas for not being fully informed of the situation at the border.
The former 2016 presidential candidate toured the border as Title 42 came to an end. The policy was implemented by Trump in 2020 as a pandemic measure. Title 42 allowed federal law enforcement to deport illegal immigrants more quickly.
The result of Title 42 and other Trump-era policies sharply reduced the number of border crossings. In fiscal year 2019, the number of migrants apprehended at the southern border more than doubled. This total of more than 850,000 was the highest number since 2007.
Since President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the number of illegal border crossings has increased significantly. Prior to the end of Title 42, the number of migrants attempting to cross the border had already tripled.
“It’s going to be chaotic for a while,” Biden said this week.
