Cruz's Immigration Plan: Timely Remedy for Amnesty and Syrian Refugee Crisis

It’s official. Ted Cruz’s immigration plan trumps Trump’s!

I expected that the unveiling of his plan would take a back seat to the Islamic terrorist attack in Paris, France, and rightfully so. However, in lieu of the chaos, presidents will be forced to make many decisions during the course of their term(s) that will affect the safety and security of the American people. The Paris attack gave us a chance to see how our candidates would respond were an event like that to occur during their administration. In a world with an ever-increasing threat of an ISIS attack, immigration is no longer a matter of migration and sovereignty alone. It’s a matter of national security.

I attended a rally for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last Friday. It was held at Faith Assembly of God, a local mega-church in Orlando, Florida. Sen. Cruz made a brief appearance to give a speech and shake hands with some of his supporters. He, along with all of the other GOP presidential candidates, were scheduled to speak at the Sunshine Summit across town. As an esteemed member of the press (yeah right), I was handed two sheets of paper prior to his arrival at the church from a member of his campaign team.

What I read made it clear that our federal government, particularly the White House, would no longer be in the business of importing terrorists or exporting American jobs under a Cruz Administration.

Cruz’s plan doesn’t explicitly address the deportation of the estimated 11 million illegal foreigners residing within our nation’s borders currently. Nonetheless, it’s almost certain that self-deportation would be the end result of his plan. Self-deportation is a more viable option than Donald Trump’s plan to corral illegal foreigners and throw them out, considering the divided and often feckless Congress in Washington, D.C.

Sen. Cruz wisely divided his plan into three categories. All of which are essential in restoring our immigration system: Judeo-Christian heritage, healthy job wages, and national sovereignty. The plan entails how he would secure the border, restore the rule of law, and reform legal immigration to protect Americans. Within each category, Sen. Cruz offered specific and in-depth objectives to implement his plan, along with a “promise” to see it through. I’ve listed them all below in bold face lettering, along with my own brief commentary (not in bold face) as to why each is essential for a border plan going forward:

1.) Secure the border.

  A.) Build a wall that works. After passing legislation in 2006 to complete a 700-mile fence across our southern border and having it signed by then President George W. Bush, Congress managed to build a mere 36 miles worth of fence. Ted Cruz promised to “complete” the remaining 664 miles worth of concrete enforced fencing.

  B.) Triple the number of border patrol agents. The federal government is obligated to enforce our border laws. Having more manpower will help in that effort and let the countries south of our border know we mean business.

  C.) Increase vital aerial surveillance and other technology along the border. Although I’m skeptical of the effectiveness of this particular aspect of securing our border security, Sen. Cruz argues that “eyes in the sky and other equipment are necessary to find and detain all illegal entrants.”

  D.) Finish the biometric tracking system at our nation’s ports of entry. Approximately 60 percent of illegal foreigners who enter our country legally on temporary visa programs never leave. A tracking system is crucial to curtail that.

2.) Restore the rule of law.

  A.) End President Obama’s illegal amnesty. Sen. Cruz promises to rescind each of Obama’s 20 executive orders that have fomented illegal immigration since his first day in office. Since Sen. Cruz has argued before the Supreme Court nine times, I believe he knows what he’s doing.

  B.) Increase deportations and end catch-and-release. Deportations and returns have to be taken seriously. Ted Cruz has promised to rededicate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “fully enforcing the law.”

  C.) End sanctuary policies. Sanctuary cities are a spit in the face to those who immigrated to our country legally. They undermine any incentive for illegal foreigners to assimilate. This must be stopped! Three hundred and forty jurisdictions in the U.S. refuse to enforce our immigration laws. Cruz has promised to sign “Kate’s law, and deport criminal immigrants.”

  D.) Prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving financial benefits and strengthen E-Verify. People who broke our border laws don’t deserve welfare from U.S. citizens. Additionally, American jobs should go to Americans. This policy will help accomplish that objective.

3.) Reform legal immigration to protect Americans.

  A.) Suspend the issuance of all H-1B visas for 180 days to complete a comprehensive investigation and audit of pervasive allegations of abuse of the program. Ted Cruz also promised to “initiate an immediate 90-day investigation and audit” of the H-1B visa program to protect American jobs. I would like more details on this.

  B.) Halt any increases in immigration so long as American unemployment remains unacceptably high. Until American workers are near full employment it makes no sense to saturate the low-skilled labor market and drive down wages.

  C.) Enforce the public-charge doctrine. I love this! If you come to this country, it is incumbent upon you and no one else to take care of yourself. Let’s restore the “American Dream,” not the “Great Society.”

  D.) End birthright citizenship. As a black American, it is offensive how our Fourteenth Amendment is being used to justify lawless acts by illegal foreigners when it was written to protect freedmen! Senator Cruz promises to “take steps to pass legislation or a constitutional amendment to end it.”

America is the only industrialized nation in the modern world with weak border policy. Other candidates are “campaigning” about what they’d do to secure the border, but knowing what we know about Sen. Cruz, he’s just speaking truth.

“Ted Cruz by Gage Skidmore 4” by Gage Skidmore. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Carl Jackson is a radio talk show host – his web site is www.carljacksonshow.com

The views expressed in opinion articles are solely those of the author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Black Community News.