Ted Cruz Offers Legislation to End Immigration Border Crisis

The case can be made that the Obama administration’s refusal to enforce immigration laws has sent a clear message that the United States won’t deport those who enter the country illegally. It certainly has encouraged Central American youths to get into the country give that once here, it is likely they’ll be allowed to stay. Now, GOP Senator Ted Cruz has offered legislation he claims is designed to resolve the border crisis. His legislation would revoke funding for President Obama’s 2012 Deferred Action program. The program itself was created without congressional legislation and is part of Obama’s expanded use of Executive Authority to circumvent the will of the congress. The legislation also offers no amnesty or “pathway to citizenship” as pro-amnesty supporters now refer to it.

However, some immigration experts do not believe the current border crisis is being caused by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While it is true that Central American children are streaming across the US border, not one of them qualifies for residency based on DACA. This is because DACA requires the immigrant child has completed any of the following: received an honorable discharge from US military service, be currently enrolled or graduated from a US high school, or have lived in the US continuously since 2007. Obviously, the border children do not meet those requirements. Given this fact, it is curious that Senator Cruz is touting his legislation as a solution to the current crisis.

Cruz was a guest on the Fox News program “Fox News Sunday” hosted by the venerable reporter Chris Wallace. When asked the tough question of explaining how the legislation ending DACA would resolve the current border crisis or at least confess that the bill is not related to the contributing factors of the crisis, Cruz was mum. By contrast, Texas Governor Rick Perry is doing something tangible to manage the crisis along the Texas-Mexico border: deploy the National Guard. It is without question that Obama has directed the US border patrol to turn a blind eye to the wave of illegals. At least Perry’s response will help mitigate the problem in his home state.

BCN editor’s note: This article first appeared at Latino News Today.