Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Reporter asks Ted Cruz four times: “How do you define amnesty?”
Hot Air ^ | 12/01/2015

Posted on 12/01/2015 10:41:52 AM PST by BlackFemaleArmyColonel

The best part is when she asks the obvious follow-up -- is a path to legalization "amnesty"? -- and he won't even make eye contact.

There's a spectrum of answers to this question on the right, of course:

1. Amnesty is citizenship without preconditions. That's the strictest definition, and naturally the one preferred by Beltway Republicans like Marco Rubio in his Gang of Eight days. (Marco Rubio circa 2010 had a different view.) As long as you're forcing illegals to jump through some sort of hoop, be it learning English, paying back taxes, going to the back of the line, etc, that's not amnesty -- even if you're granting them citizenship. Anything short of immediate voting rights for illegals, no questions asked, is A-OK.

2. Amnesty is citizenship. That's Jeb Bush's position, as I understand it. Jeb will legalize 'em, let 'em stay in the U.S. and work, but allowing them to become full citizens with voting rights goes too far in rewarding them for breaking our laws. The most an illegal can aspire to be is a permanent legal resident. Beyond that lies amnesty.

3. Amnesty is legalization unless you've improved security first. That's Ted Cruz's position (and Marco Rubio's current position), again as I understand it. This isn't so much a literal definition of "amnesty," which is a matter of legal status, as it is a political compromise between the two prongs of comprehensive immigration reform. Legalization (i.e. work permits) is on the table if and only if we see concrete improvements in internal enforcement first. Border hawks got suckered in 1986 by accepting promises of future border security in return for immediate grants of amnesty; despite the Gang of Eight's best efforts, they won't get suckered again.

(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Texas; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 2016election; aliens; amnesty; anchorbabies; bordersecurity; buildthewall; citizenship; crime; cruz; culturalinvasion; deport; deportthemall; drainonresources; election2016; elections; fence; health; illegalimmigration; illegals; infiltrators; invasion; jobs; legalstatus; nationalsecurity; sanctuarycities; security; sendthemback; tedcruz; texas; trojanhorse; trump; trumpwasright; wall
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 161-180181-200201-220 ... 341-359 next last
To: JediJones

Trumps backstep for knowing it’s not possible to deport that many people let alone find them....just “fast track them back their reward for coming here illegally.”.....and you can be certain he’ll have the paperwork available without leaving the country.


181 posted on 12/01/2015 1:05:05 PM PST by caww
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 177 | View Replies]

To: dragnet2
No, by lower prices I mean the amount that you pay at the check stand in the store for vegetables. By lower prices, I also mean the amount that you pay in restaurants and hotels. In Spanish, the verb (infinitive) for pay is pagar.

I would be willing to pay more in order to restore our legal system and require that employers hire only people who are legally here and allowed to work.

182 posted on 12/01/2015 1:06:24 PM PST by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 172 | View Replies]

To: CottonBall; All

“Illegals get paid under the table, so then go out and get welfare, food stamps, housing subsidies, and free medical. Taxpayers get screwed and only the unethical employers get mire profit from paying no workers comp and no social security.”

B T T T


183 posted on 12/01/2015 1:06:26 PM PST by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) since Nov 2014 (GOPe is that easy to read)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 165 | View Replies]

To: brothers4thID

It ignores nothing. We have no sovereignty or borders in America.

Don’t believe me, unless you live in an isolated cave, just walk outside and look around.


184 posted on 12/01/2015 1:07:37 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 178 | View Replies]

To: Amntn

No “conversation.” There’s nothing to talk about. The American people want illegals GONE. Period. Anything allowing them to stay in this country is amnesty. Citizenship, non-citizenship, voting, not voting, it’s all just smokescreens. Anything short of deportation is amnesty.


185 posted on 12/01/2015 1:08:10 PM PST by Nea Wood
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: JediJones

Interesting that now people are trying to figure out just ‘how’ Trump expects to carry out his ideas.....he’s not good at giving details as they get in the way of his what he’s selling.

But as said...”we’ll have a big golden door to let the good ones back in”....maybe even make it a Trump Door!”.......


186 posted on 12/01/2015 1:09:01 PM PST by caww
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 179 | View Replies]

To: Nea Wood

That is not going to happen...as much as people want to see that....it’s just not.


187 posted on 12/01/2015 1:09:53 PM PST by caww
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 185 | View Replies]

To: Tau Food

I quit going to restaurants long ago. They’re too expensive.

Please don’t go to the we get cheap vegetables bullshit. They beat that one to death.


188 posted on 12/01/2015 1:10:01 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 182 | View Replies]

To: brothers4thID

Sending them all back, which theoretically I would support, would work as well as confiscation of firearms, which of course I do not support!
Build the g_d d_mned wall! Strengthen and emplement an e-verify system....then and only then!


189 posted on 12/01/2015 1:10:41 PM PST by mosley
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 176 | View Replies]

To: brothers4thID
http://legalinsurrection.com/

Friday, March 27, 2015 at 7:27pm

Ted Cruz disputes MSNBC claim he supports legalization of illegal immigrants

Earlier today, MSNBC published a story suggesting Senator Cruz supports legalization of undocumented individuals currently in the United States.

Derived from the fact that Senator Cruz hasn't’t specifically stated he does not support legalization of undocumented individuals, the inference is that Cruz must therefore support legalization of undocumented individuals. It’s a nice little semantic game, really.

MSNBC referenced a Texas Tribune article from 2013 which they claim indicates, “that he [Cruz] supported giving some undocumented immigrants permission to stay in the country with more limited legal status.” This summation is not accurate.

The Texas Tribune article, written around the time of the Gang of Eight immigration fight, makes the same incorrect assumption as MSNBC. The first statement is correct while the latter is only partially so:

When it comes to immigration reform, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has made it abundantly clear what he opposes: giving citizenship to people who broke the law to come here.

What has not been as evident is what he supports: legal status for millions of people here already, while making it easier for immigrants to come here through the front door.

Going on to discuss the Gang of Eight legislation, the Texas Tribune reported:

Immigration-reform legislation from the Senate’s so-called Gang of Eight passed that chamber in June and includes a 13-year path to citizenship. Cruz pushed unsuccessfully for amendments that would have, among other things, eliminated the citizenship component.

Asked about what to do with the people here illegally, however, he stressed that he had never tried to undo the goal of allowing them to stay.

“The amendment that I introduced removed the path to citizenship, but it did not change the underlying work permit from the Gang of Eight,” he said during a recent visit to El Paso. Cruz also noted that he had not called for deportation or, as Mitt Romney famously advocated, self-deportation.

Neither in the Texas Tribune nor at any other time has Senator Cruz ever said he supports legalization for undocumented workers currently residing in the United States.

Senator Cruz’s campaign spokeswoman Catherine Frazier told us Cruz’s goal in the Gang of Eight amendment was three fold: to get Senators on the record showing where they stood on the issue, that it was a good faith effort to improve the bill, and to stop a pathway to citizenship. Frazier explained it was not intended to suggest support for legalization.

“Cruz supports strengthening the border and fixing our legal immigration and interior enforcement systems before we deal with those who are here illegally,” Frazier said. “It’s premature to discuss what to do with those who are still here illegally until we have made these reforms. Indicating that there may be the potential for amnesty in the future, only encourages more illegal immigration.”

Frazier reiterated Senator Cruz’s consistency on the issue, that the Senator is in favor of expanding legal immigration, and that he vocally opposes President Obama’s executive immigration overreach.

While MSNBC’s claim that Senator Cruz has not specifically detailed his stance on legalizing undocumented immigrants is true, the inference that he supports legalization, is false.

What Cruz is doing is ‘political speak’.....

190 posted on 12/01/2015 1:10:43 PM PST by HarleyLady27 (I have such happy days, I hope you do too!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 176 | View Replies]

To: Georgia Girl 2

And according to Trump, Romney’s immigration plan was “mean-spirited”


191 posted on 12/01/2015 1:11:20 PM PST by kygolfman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 109 | View Replies]

To: HarleyLady27

Boy, there sure seems to be a truckload of discrepancies there.


192 posted on 12/01/2015 1:12:38 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 190 | View Replies]

To: dragnet2
Well, that is what these candidates are being told. This has been going on for decades. People hire illegals because it is cheaper. So, of course, it will cost a bit more for a lot of services to force everyone to go legit. But, it will be worth it.
193 posted on 12/01/2015 1:14:33 PM PST by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 188 | View Replies]

To: lewislynn; brothers4thID

The “Task force” mentioned on the report has 31 members. The front page of the report with the credits only lists 7 names. Heidi’s name is not on there. You have absolutely no idea what involvement she had in this report and what she agrees with. Do all 31 members agree with every word of the report? For all we know she was an intern getting coffee and had no involvement in writing the report at all.

The report is from 2005, when she was 33. Her Wikipedia says she suffered from depression that year and experienced a spiritual turnaround. Not only do we not know if she wrote anything in that report, she may have changed her mind on lots of things since then.


194 posted on 12/01/2015 1:14:55 PM PST by JediJones (The #1 Must-see Filibuster of the Year: TEXAS TED AND THE CONSERVATIVE CRUZ-ADE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 140 | View Replies]

To: dragnet2

I agree.


195 posted on 12/01/2015 1:14:57 PM PST by kygolfman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 113 | View Replies]

To: dragnet2

Like Cruz has been saying: he’s not going to say anything about amnesty until after he is elected....

Reminds me of : “You have to vote for it first before you know what is in it” statement.....seen how far that got us....


196 posted on 12/01/2015 1:15:14 PM PST by HarleyLady27 (I have such happy days, I hope you do too!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 192 | View Replies]

To: kygolfman

How is it possible were 7 months into this election, but no one knows how Rafael Edward Cruz defines amnesty?


197 posted on 12/01/2015 1:15:44 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 191 | View Replies]

To: HarleyLady27
Like Cruz has been saying: he's not going to say anything about amnesty until after he is elected.

How many times have Americans seen comments that coming out of DC?

198 posted on 12/01/2015 1:17:50 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 196 | View Replies]

To: kygolfman

We have guest worker programs for people to do the jobs that we have no US workers for. I have a feeling that the big beautiful door is going to be the one going out and the one coming back in will be much smaller. But Trump can’t exactly say that. If you know what I mean. :-)


199 posted on 12/01/2015 1:19:37 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 168 | View Replies]

To: caww

Sure, Trump will say he’s a great negotiator and makes great deals, and tell us he traded away the idea of deportation to get Congress to fund an extra 10 feet on the wall and it was a great deal, since all those illegals were just going to come back in anyway.


200 posted on 12/01/2015 1:20:14 PM PST by JediJones (The #1 Must-see Filibuster of the Year: TEXAS TED AND THE CONSERVATIVE CRUZ-ADE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 181 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 161-180181-200201-220 ... 341-359 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson